Ramblings of the Mind

My First Black Friday

2011-11-25T16:44:00.001-06:00

My First Black Friday

There once was a time when I thought that those who ventured out on the wee hours of the morning on that Friday after Thanksgiving were insane. Why did they go out while most of us were still sleeping out our turkey comas? Was anything really worth waiting in line for those doors to be unlocked?

Well Thursday morning, I woke up and went downstairs. The paper was massive, all those catalogs beckoning shoppers to doorbuster deals that looked so enticing.

I pulled out the three that caught my eye. JC Penny had a great luggage set on sell for $39.00 (original price valued at $200). Bealls had a pair of gloves that are sensor touch so I can use my phone without taking my gloves off. And then there were some books on sell at Books-a-Million that I wanted to look at (even though I have a kindle).

My Plan:

1. Get some sleep and go when ever I wake up.

2. Hit JC Penny first, they opened the earliest and I knew I had to get there fast if I wanted the luggage.

3. Bealls would be next, because it was also at the mall.

4. Then hit BAM, if I was still in the mood.

So I was set, I went to sleep late because I was watching a movie. However, I woke up at 5:00. I got up and got dressed. Penny's had only been open for an hour, I had a chance. I got in my car and headed over. I luckily got a great parking spot as someone else (one of those aforementioned insane people) was just leaving.

I asked a sales person where the luggage was, showing a picture from that catalog. He walked me right to them, and they not only still had it, but I had my choice of colors. I was so excited.

That meant it was time for Bealls. As a drove around to the other side of the mall ( as the mall doesn't open until 9) I noticed a line formed outside. When I pulled out the catalog, I noticed they didn't open until 6 and I had like 5 min, so I got in line. Guess that make me one of the insane. When the doors opened I knew exactly where to go. I got the gloves and went to get in line. That is when the best Black Friday experience comes. I was in line at the cashier and I was the one who made the line start to curve. As I was standing there, ladies started joining behind me. That is when I noticed a woman had gotten on the other side of the line and intended to cut in line. I didn't mind, I was only getting the gloves. But the older lady behind me did mind and she says something about it. And then this other woman (a large black woman) starts getting an attitude back at her and it almost went to blows. I was almost in the middle of one of those things that would have made the morning news. But I did get the gloves.

On my way to BAM, I stopped into Sears, just to look at the electronics. I met a former classmate from college, and we got to talking. I told him I wanted to look at the tvs. So he showed them to me. And I got one (not on my list, but a major want). He told me about some that were on sale, but not out on the floor. Thank goodness for old friends.

I never made it to BAM, but I had a very great morning and was home before 7.

Call me Insane.

The "Joy" of Being Sick

2011-11-05T17:41:00.003-05:00

As with every change of the weather here in Texas, those nasty little bugs are starting to go around. Working with kids, it is just bound to happen that one of those bugs will find me. In past years, if I got sick I was able to just stay at home and not worry about going to work or even getting out of bed for that matter. But now that I am an official teacher and with that only a limited number of days a year to miss school, I have to fight through what I am feeling and try to make it one day at a time.

On Tuesday night I started feeling it. By Wednesday, my cold was full blown and getting worse. However, since this week was the last in this grading period, I had to go to school. Each day it was a struggle to stay on top of my kids to get all their work finished and corrected. But i made it. At 5:00 on Friday I was going home, grades finalized and no planning needed to be done.

That is when the worst hit. Last night I was up every two hours, coughing up a lung and not being able to swallow anything. I was miserable. And because I couldn't sleep, I started to read. I rarely get to read anymore because of school and it was a pleasure to get to do that this morning. I fell asleep reading and had one of the best dreams I had head in a while.

Maybe it was the book, or maybe the medicine that I am taking, but I have had a Joy being sick!

Let's Go Rangers!!!

2011-10-15T22:30:00.002-05:00

You would only have to spend like 3 seconds with me to know that I am a huge sports fan. Not just a sports fan, but a Dallas Sports Fan. Rangers, Cowboys, Mavericks, Stars, I love them all. This past spring we saw the first NBA Championship to the Big-D, and tonight, the Rangers have once again given us hope of our first ever MLB Championship.

I have been a Ranger fan for as long as I can remember. I really started following them at the age of seven when, in July of 1994 Kenny Rodgers pitched a perfect game because a rookie right fielder laid out to rob a hit from the first hitter of the top of the ninth. The Rangers made it to the post-season for the first time in 1996, 1998, and 1999. Each time they faced the Yankees in the first round and were shut down. Last year, we made it all the way. Only to be shut down by the Giants when they got there.

This year just feels different. With Cruz, Beltre, Young, Hamilton, Napoli and many many more, the line-up is hard to navigate through. Then there are Wilson, Feldman, Ogando, Feliz and a few more arms that have been lights out on the mound.

This is our Year...

LET'S GO RANGERS!!!!

Another Day in this Wild and Crazy Week

2011-10-08T13:49:00.004-05:00

So is get to add another day to this wild week that I have already had.

Friday morning at about 2am, I woke up with excruciating paint in my lower back and abdomen. I didn't know what was wrong. I was scared that after the fall I had on Wednesday morning, the doctors had missed something.

After I started trowing up at 3:00, I told my grandparents that I wanted to go somewhere. I was scared and in so much pain. So we headed to the ER. I had to email my principal and the teachers on my team at school to let them know I wouldn't be at school and where my sub stuff was. Then we were off.

After 3 hours, they told me that the pain was from a kidney stone that was trying to pass. I have four of them, three are still in the top of my right kidney and that one was probably knocked loose during the fall I had on Wednesday morning.

I spent all day yesterday sleeping, and with the pain med they have me on, the dreams I was having were crazy.

I can't wait to get this week behind me and start anew, but until this stone passes, the pain will be a reminder of the week that was.

How a Shower Curtain Saved my Life

2011-10-06T19:16:00.002-05:00

If you were to ask my grandparents, they would probably tell you that I am a very accident proved person. I am also very sickly. I get hurt and get sick often. Therefore if you know me, the following story isn't that out of the ordinary. But for those of you that don't know me, you are in for a treat.

Yesterday morning I woke up at 4:45 so that I could get in the shower. Why so early you may ask? Well, my grandmother and I both work at the same school, me as a teacher and her in the office as a secretary. That means we both have to get up and ready to go to school in the mornings using the same shower. So I got in the shower.

Being a girl, I thought that it was time for me to shave my legs again (I wanted to wear my favorite dress and jeans jacket, which meant I needed smooth legs). Leg up, stroke, leg down, rinse razor, repeat. The first few strokes went just as planned. Then came the fourth rotation. Leg up, then another leg starts to come up and I began to fall. I was thinking to my self, "Be ready, this is going to hurt!" As I began to fall, I grabbed behind me. The shower curtain was what my hands found. The entire curtain and rod came down (Even the part that was attached to the wall). I landed on my back while my left side slammed into the sink and toilet.

Knowing that my grandmother was awake and reading the paper in the living room, and that my grandfather had probably heard and woke up, I grabbed a towel to cover up. I was so embarrassed, I didn't even think about what was hurting. The first thing my grandmother asked was if I was alive, and if I could move. I said, "I don't know." She stepped back out of the bathroom and let me get myself up and somewhat dressed so her and my grandpa could come in. I was worried about the curtain rod, they were worried about me.

I went to school because we were giving an all day test and I knew that I wouldn't have much to do other than facilitate. As the day wore on, all those little nicks started to make themselves known. I was hurting all over. My shoulder was killing me and my back was not far behind. I went to the doctor after school was over. He said nothing was broken or torn, just really swollen and really bruised. After looking at the X-ray of my back, he said that I have arthritis in my lower back, which is probably why it started hurting after I fell. His last words," Go home and thank your shower curtain, it probably saved your life."

That my friends is how a shower curtain saved my life!

Ten Years Later and it Still Hits Hard...

2011-09-11T18:22:00.003-05:00

I walked into the school on just another Tuesday that morning. A few of my friends and I had missed a Spanish quiz and had gone to Senor Hoof's room to make it up. We started 15 min before 8 and I was almost finished when Senor Hoof ran into the room and told us to go ahead and turn the quiz in, we would be able to finish it later. He went straight to the television and turned it on.

I really wasn't sure what I was looking at when the screen faded into a crisp picture of the NY skyline. Then one by one, my classmates and I noticed the smoke billowing from one of the World Trade Center towers. We were dumb struck almost. As more students filed in for class to begin, the news anchors were just as dumb founded as we were, trying to make since of the picture we were seeing. Then we saw a dark figure, that looked like a large plane, fly in the shot from the right of the screen and a huge explosion rocked the second WTC tower. There was screaming, shouting and chaos going on all around me and I was frozen in all my emotions. Fear, anger, and grief were running though my veins. about ten minutes later the word terrorism was being mentioned, and we couldn't believe it. My classmates and I had been alive for the Pan Am flight 103 bombing in 1988, WTC bombing of 1993, and the OKC Bombing 1995, but this was the first time we were really old enough to understand what was going on. None of us said a word after the initial shock of seeing the plane hit, we just watched.

After about 20 minutes, Senor Hoof said we needed to get to work. He told us that probably nothing else would happen. About 15 min before the class was scheduled to end, the principal walked in and handed a memo to Senor Hoof. As he read it silently to himself, you could see the disbelief in his face. Then he started to read:

"Students and Teachers, as you have probably heard by now, the United States has suffered a great tragedy this Tuesday morning. Three planes have hit the WTC towers 1 and 2 and the Pentagon. Just moments ago, both towers fell. There is no telling the loss of life that has occurred this morning. As much as this news will affect all of you in different ways, there is no cause for alarm here. We will keep you updated on events throughout the day. May God Bless America"

I was crying before he finished reading the letter. I thought there would be more attacks that day. We didn't know what to think. The rest of the day was eerie. The hallways were silent all day. We tried to hurry from class to class, so that we could still watch the news as it was unfolding. President Bush spoke from Barksdale that afternoon (which is less that an hour away). On the band field shortly after his speech, we could have sworn those fighter jets scrambling in the sky were leading Air Force One to its undisclosed location. I went to Softball practice that evening still in a daze. September 11, 2001 will be a day I will never forget.

Ten years later, and I can still see those images. I can still see the football player that sat in front of me trying to hide his tears as they replayed the second plane hit. Ten years ago the United States was united under a banner of hope and sorrow for those lost in this horrendous tragedy that happened on our watch. So many times, I wonder where that America went. Have we forgotten the unity that occurred, or have we, like those after the 1993 bombing, just gotten so far removed from the tragedy that we no longer sense the urgency that is still prevalent today?

As I remember my experiences, the emotions still hit hard. The fear, the anger and the sorrow are all still so raw for me. The tears running down my face right now (that make it rather difficult to pen my last few words) show those emotions rather well.

Have the last ten year changed you life? Because they sure did change mine!

Week One Down...

2011-08-28T20:16:00.002-05:00

So my very first week as an official teacher has come and gone, and it has been a rather interesting one to say the least.

After the first day fireworks that I experienced, the rest of the week almost went off without a hitch. I have a great group of students. There is only one class right now that is trying as hard as they can to test the waters. It's like no matter what I do, they are not going to do what I ask of them. I don't want to react...I want to be proactive with this group, but that is becoming rather difficult.

Friday night we had a welcome back to school dance. I went to help out and had a good time. Let me just say that i went "Low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low" and then it was hard to get back up. Some of my students were excited to see me there. And the entire night went without a hitch and every student was picked up on time.

Hoping that this week is just as great as my last one!!!

A Very Peculiar First Day

2011-08-22T21:06:00.002-05:00

Too say that this day went off without a hitch would almost be a lie.

Today was my first official day as an 8th grade math teacher at TMS. I was a little nervous about actually having my own classroom, but I was also excited and ready. My classes are amazing. I can't wait to see how we are all going to mesh this year. There are very strong personalities, and very humbles personalities. After having each student fill out a 'Get to Know You' questionnaire, I realized that I have some very unique individuals in my classes.

Like I said, my classes were amazing and I had an awesome first day of school, at least is was until I went to leave.

At 4:30 I headed to my car, but my things in the back seat and got in the drivers seat. I put my key in the ignition and it went "ch ch ch ch ch ch ch" but didn't start. So I turned the key again "ch ch ch ch ch' was the sound I heard, yet again it wouldn't start. SO I got out of the sauna and called my grandfather. He asked me what it was doing and I said "ch ch ch ch ch ch" but it wont start. Some how our communication was misinterpreted because he thought automatically that the battery was out. However, that was not the case.

He stood there and looked under the hood for awhile (really just looked, we had no clue what to do). He asked me how much gas I had. I knew that I had over a quarter of a tank, but he went and got gas anyway to put in the tank. That wasn't the problem either.

So we went home. He kept saying over and over again, "Some how fuel isn't getting to your engine" So he called a tow truck. After relaying the make and model of my car on the phone, to guy says "I know exactly what's wrong, meet me at your car in 5 minutes"

Drum Roll........................................

It was my anti theft system. It turned itself on which disables the fuel injector. No fuel, no start. 10 minutes later he had the car running. Any my grandfather and I were perplexed.

What a way to end a great day!

A Whirlwind of Information

2011-08-10T17:06:00.002-05:00

On July 19, 2011 I was offered a wonderful opportunity. I was given a position to teach 8th grade mat at Texas Middle School.

Since that day I have been on information overload. Workshops for math, instructional services, Aware, TEAMS/Gradebook, Instructional Technology, IEP's and ARDS, Orientation, Benefits, and many more. Not to mention those workshops that all the teachers go to during our campus instructional planning the next week.

Any down time I have between all those workshops is spent getting my classroom together. Bulletin boards, student desks, teacher desks, rules, procedures, making sure each student will be able to see the board...it is so overwhelming.

I made a comment to my grandmother yesterday that I never want to be a first year teacher in another district for the rest of my life...there is just too much to learn. Hopefully all those notes and handouts will be repeatedly reread and looked over (because I won't remember everything).

I have a great team and a great mentor teacher.

Bring on those kids!!!!!

Back to the Heart of Worship

2011-07-14T11:26:00.004-05:00

I read somewhere that if you hear a song 20 times, you stop thinking about the words. The book went on to say that this is affecting our worship to God. I would have to agree. I go to church and the music starts. Usually I don't even have to look at the screens, the words are already coming out. The melodies and harmonies are finding their way through my vocal chords. Then my mind starts to wander "What am I going to do after church today? What will the students be like tomorrow? Man I hope I get that job. Etc." Is that what my worship looks like to God. Can you even consider that worship? Even though I am singing the song, the words are not coming from my heart.

Yesterday I decided to do something about it. I grabbed a notebook and wrote the very words that you have read so far. I decided that I really needed to think about the way I worship. I have started writing down the words that I sing all the time and then figuring out if I really want to pledge that to the Lord of all.

I want to get back to the heart of worship. I don't want to go through the motions anymore. I want to worship in Spirit and in Truth.

A Night Of Greenbeans

2011-07-11T10:43:00.001-05:00

Kids' Camp ended a little over a week ago. Usually this is the last time that I get to see all my friends from the Northwest. I say goodbye to all the kids, the counselors, the staff, and usually there are hopes for seeing each other again in a year when we all converge on the Latvian Camp we call home for a week.

Luckily for me, the 'year' came rather quickly. As I was starting on my journey home on July 4 through the air, another journey had already begun by land. Pastor Jamie, Kim, Chelsea, and Phoebe were on vacation. The Greenings were headed to my neck of the woods.

We ate dinner at Two Senoritas in Mt. Pleasant. It was here that I heard first hand of the upcoming Light Bulb Apocalypse. We had a great visit, a lot of laughs. Somehow we decided that we were going to go to a movie. This was great for me, I have a rule that I have to spent more time in a place then the time it takes to drive there and back. On the way to the movie, we had to stop and get coffee for Jamie's mom's house. We stopped at Super 1 (apparently our first mistake) where they didn't have the 'classic roast' so we got Colombian, but we did grab a package of light bulbs (which made our mistake not seem as bad). On the way to the Movie Theater I learned a new meaning for 'Cheese'. Then we watched Car's 2 (which I loved again).

So now it's another year before I get to hang out with the Greenings again. But until then, last night will have to hold me over until then.

Some Pool Side Faith

2011-07-02T13:00:00.002-05:00

Once again I have been granted the privilege of serving as the lifeguard at Kids’ Camp. Being able to work with the kids, building on relationships and starting new ones has been a blessing that will last a life time. I enjoy every minute that I spent at Camp Kursa each year and each year, I get more out of that time.

This week, our theme was “Driven by Faith in Jesus”. Each chapel time we delved into who God is and what is means to really be driven by our faith in him. It just so happened that my personal study each morning was learning about the Holy Spirit and how to trust in Him. That being said, Faith has been on my mind a lot this week.

Tuesday afternoon during pool time, I really started watching the kids. When I announced it was time for swim time to start, some just ran and jumped in. I call these kids Plungers. They didn’t know if the water was cold or warm, they just knew that I said go and they wanted to be in the water, so they jumped. Then there were the Toe Touchers. When I said it was time to get in, they ran to the stairs and put their feet in. Then after a while they might get wet to their waists. Then their choice must be mad “Do I keep going, do I go back, or do I just stay here where I am comfortable?”

As I was watching this, I couldn’t help but think how much this resembles Christians and their response to the Spirit. The Plungers are those who hear the Spirit say go and then run and jump. They know that once they get there it may be hard, but they also know that the Spirit is going with them and they are willing to follow (no matter what), their faith is strong. The Toe Touchers are those who hear the Spirit say go and then respond by only going a little ways to try it out, then they may go deeper. But all too often Toe Touchers stay where they are comfortable or they even give up all together. I want to have the faith of a Plunger, but I tend to find myself acting like a Toe Toucher. However there is hope for us Toe Touchers.

Going back to the pool, after awhile, I saw pastor Jim go over to those at the stairs. He would ask them if they wanted to go for a swim, and the trusted him. The kids, one by one, would jump on his back and he would swim them around the pool. The smiles on their faces told it all, they were experiencing the land of the Plungers and loving every minute of it. To Toe Touchers, those Plungers who are willing to come aside with reassurance and encouragement are priceless.

I know a lot of plungers (a few right here serving at Camp). I also know a few Toe Touchers. My prayer for the Toe Touchers is that God will continue to show you more of his Spirit and that your faith will continue to grow until you are ready to jump in (head or feet first). For the Plungers, I pray that your faith remains strong. I pray that every once and awhile you’ll turn back to a Toe Toucher and say, “Come on in and swim with me, the waters fine.”

God is Awesome, Still

2010-07-04T12:24:00.000-05:00

As I sit here and reflect over the last week, all I can say is that GOD IS AWESOME!

This past week I was given the privilege to return to the northwest and serve the OBA during kid’s camp. When I had agreed to return, I thought that I was set. I would have a job by the end of the school year, then come to kid’s camp, and then return home to prepare for the school year to come. And that is when things seemed to start falling apart. The job that I thought would be offered to me was reluctantly given to someone else. Then it seemed like no one else would hire me. I almost called Pastor Dan to tell him that I wouldn’t be able to come.

Then it occurred to me. God had opened too many doors and opportunities for this trip to become possible: He provided airfare, the money for my lifeguard certification, and many other small things that I knew that I was supposed to be at Kid’s Camp this year. So I came.

It wasn’t until I arrived at Kamp Kursa that I actually felt at peace with that decision. Our staff devotions each morning were focused on 1 John 4:16-5:2 with vs. 18 being the main focus “There is no fear in love; but perfect perfect love drives out fear.” When Pastor Jim had us read those words, I began to list all the fears I had: no job, regret, is he the one, rejection, and many more. Why do I fear about all of these things, could it be that I still have yet to grasp the perfect love of God. That is when I met John.

John is eight years old. He has had a rough life. He is being raised in a one parent home where his dad is not present. I know what that feels like. My mom left my brothers and I eleven years ago and our dad is around, but at his convenience. John got in trouble a few times on the first day, so I thought that I would hang out with him for a while. We did crafts together. He hung out by me at the pool while I was fulfilling my ‘lifeguard duties’. We ate dinner together and sat together at Chapel. The next morning we started again; missions, craft, lunch, chapel, pool, dinner, campfire. We had a great time together. John and I had some amazing conversations. He is a smart kid. I learned a little about him, while he learned a little about me. He kept saying over and over again how all he wanted was the other kids to like him, that he wanted a friend. I wanted him to know that I loved him just like he was. But most of all, I wanted him to know that God loved him even more than I did. God created John and has a purpose for his life.

Right now I think I can honestly say that I have begun to understand the “perfect love that casts out fear” because God revealed it to me through His little child. For the three days that I got to know and love on John, God was showing me the love that he gives freely to me. I am not worried anymore. If I get a job when I get home that’s great. And yet if I do not get a job, that is fine too. I cannot look at the time that I spent at Kid’s Camp this year and think that God didn’t have a purpose for me this summer.

There are many Johns in this world. I hope that everyone get the opportunity to learn from one of them as I have.

A Little Wisdom From "When in Rome"

2010-06-22T21:46:00.004-05:00

Last night, Peggy and I watched When in Rome. In the movie Beth's sister gets married in Rome and wants her sister to be the maid of honor. She flies over and while at the wedding meets the grooms best man, Nick and they hit it off very well. Then she witnesses a kiss between Nick and a random girl and thinks her chance for love is gone. So she sits on the Fountain of Love and yells at the statue then pulls out five coins. Each coin that she 'rescues' belongs to a man who falls in love with her.

At the end of the movie she realizes she is in love with Nick, but doesn't want the love if he doesn't really love her. Then she says a line that hit home fore me:

"If I have taken away his will, it is not really love."

A big discussion that I have had a lot lately is why God gives us a choice when he knows that a lot of us will not choose to love him. It is like what Beth says in the movie. If our will is not there, it is not real love. How would I feel when I have been married for 25 years and on my anniversary my Husband knocks on the door with a dozen roses and box of candy and says that he got them for me because he had to. Or if I open the door and he says,"I love you so much that I wanted to show you by getting you these". The latter would receive a hug and kiss while the former would probably receive a slammed door in the face.

I think that this is how God feels. He doesn't want us coming to him and worshiping him because we have to, but because we want to. By giving us a choice, our love becomes more meaningful and valuable.

Thank you God for giving us a choice. It makes me realize not only how much my love for You, but how great Your love is for us that you sent Jesus to die for us knowing that most of the world would not choose You. I love you.

AMEN

Job Opportunity???

2010-06-21T18:34:00.003-05:00

While hanging out at th Moysiuk home, I decided that I would go and take a nap around 12:30. About 3 I received a phone call from the principal of Jame Bowie Middle School in Simms, TX informing me that she had noticed my application and that I was the only applicant that had math experience and asked if I would be interested in an eighth grade math position for next fall. I told her that I was and she asked if I could come in for an interview.

Here en-lies the problem. I am in Olympia, WA until July 13. When I said yes to returning to work up here, I thought that I had a job lined up and that I wouldn't need to worry about being in the Northwest for a few weeks. Well as school came to a close, a job was not offered. Being a human, I became worried when day after day there was no offer and no returns on phone calls or emails. My fear was to arrive in Olympia and then get a call about a job that required me to be in Texarkana. So I put everything in God's hands. I knew that coming to Olympia was a huge risk, but God had opened the door very wide and if I was supposed to have a job next fall, HE would provide on for me.

Back to the call...after she asked me to come in for an interview, I informed her that I was in Olympia, WA and that I would not be returning until July 13. She then let me know that the school was hoping to fill the position by next week. But if they hadn't filled it by the 13th she would call me when I got back. If that is where God wants me to be, the job will still be open after July 13. Until then, there is nothing else that I can do.

God, I come to you now with this job opportunity. If this is where I am supposed to go next fall, then I am willing. But if not, then fill the position before I return home. I am not going to worry about anything. I am giving this to you and seeking your wisdom and guidance. I know that I have slid away from you lately, but I am turning to you. You know what is best for me and your will is what I want. If this job is not for me, I pray that you provide another. But for right now, it is all for You. I am taking it out of my hands and putting it into Yours.

AMEN

Tumwater Falls

2010-06-20T16:59:00.004-05:00

it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful God's creation really is. And I got to experience that first had yesterday while I was out with Rebecca and Ms. Peggy. Since the planned car-wash got canceled, we drove a round a little bit. After going to the store and then the farmers market down town, they took me to Tumwater Falls.

This little stretch of about a quarter of a mile is beautiful. The vegetation is great and the water is powerful. I could have stayed there the rest of the day, but we had to leave. I had a great time and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Back in the Northwest

2010-06-18T21:23:00.003-05:00

It took four year for McKenzie Rd Baptist Church to wrangle me back to Olympia, WA, but it has finally happened: I am back in the Northwest.

When I arrived on Thursday, memories and an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction came over me. I was back and I was ready to work. First it was off to the church to say hi to Pastor Dan and to sort of catch up and talk about kids camp. Then it was on to the Panter house where I had to wait for the host family I am staying with to return from a doctor's appointment. I didn't mind waiting because it gave me some time to catch up with Alyssa and Mrs. Laurie. Sam even came by for an impromptu gab session. After all this, it was finally time for me to head over to the Moisuk home.

John, Peggy and Rebecca have opened their home to me for the time that I am here. John has worked with the youth in the past and Rebecca is one of the students that was in the childrens ministry my first two summers up here and then was a part of the youth when they came to Florence, AL. She is great. They all are. I am looking forward to get to know Mrs. Peggy a little more as in the past I haven't spent much time with her, but now I have a few weeks

To Do:

youth carwash

Prep for kids camp

youth movie night

kids camp

prep for world changers

world changers

Its a full trip, but it will be great. Can't wait to get started

It feels good to be back.

The Fork

2010-06-07T09:58:00.002-05:00

I was looking through some old pictures last week and came across this one. This picture was taken in Porto Astro, Greece in 2007 by one of my team members (thanks Jarred). One day while we were there, I was given the task of separating the forks into sets to see which design had the most and so on and so forth. As I was separating them, many of the designs had 100 or 75 or 50. But this one fork had no match. No other fork in the hundreds that we sifted through matched this one. So I declared it my fork and hid it away in my luggage.

I used this fork in an object lesson recently. Like the fork, there is only one me. God made me special with my like, dislikes, hobbies, personality. Even those times when I don't like exactly who I am, the fork helps me remember that God loves who I am and made me the way I am.

I will never give up my fork. It reminds me each and every day that God loves me and there is nothing better than that.

Its 100+ Degrees...In My Room

2010-06-06T17:21:00.005-05:00

It is not that unusual for it to reach 110 degrees where I am from. You walk out side and walk to your car that is less than 100ft away and then feel like you have just jumped out of the pool. So when I got home from church is was not that weird for it to be a little warm in my bedroom. Especially since my room faces west and when the sun starts its descent, it begins to really heat up and the air conditioner starts getting turned down.

So this afternoon was no different. As it started to warm up, I started to turn down the air conditioner and waited. It kept getting hotter. So I turned it down a little more. And it just kept getting hotter. The next time I looked the thermostat said that it was 98 degrees and it was just getting hotter. So I went down stairs and told my grandparents, went back up and grabbed some things that don't need to stay in that kind of heat, and went back down to where it was a least 84 degrees so it doesn't feel as bad.

Come to find out, the compressor has gone out and now it is just a waiting game. Waiting for the guy that is going to come look at it. Waiting for his diagnosis. We might have a hot night on our hands.

Esther

2010-06-04T09:14:00.003-05:00

I have started a five week bible study called "Espresso with Esther".

I have always been fascinated with this story. A young Jewish foreigner gets talked into joining the king's harem by her uncle Mordecai. She gets beauty treatments for a year and wins the favor of the head guard who send her away for her night with the king dressed in the most amazing jewels and perfumes. She then impressed the king so much that he made her his queen.

After a while Jews become victim to a genocide of sorts. Mordecai asks Esther to go to the king and ask him to stop. Knowing that she could die, she voiced her concerns. Mordecai then suggested that maybe she has risen to this royal position for just a time as this.

She fasts and prays and goes before the king, who extends his scepter. Haman is hung, Mordecai is raised up and the Jews are saved.

This story has always fascinated me. For the next five weeks I am going to delve into this story and pick it apart.Get ready for many lessons from Esther.

A Return to Blogging

2010-06-01T10:01:00.003-05:00

So I feel like I haven't been here in a long time. I have actually missed being in the blog-sphere (even thought I think I started it because it was a fad and it lost its appeal after a while). None the less, I am back even if only for a little while.

The reason for this clandestine return is I am now 16 days away from returning to the Northwest. I got a call in March from Carmen. We talked for a little while and the conversation turned to summer activities. She mentioned that there was kids camp and then World Changers in California. That was when her parents walked in. Mrs. Laurie casually mentioned that they still needed a lifeguard for kids camps and asked if I was interested. I said that I wasn't certified anymore, but that I would look into it. They said that they would help with costs if I would consider it. So I spent a few days considering it.

After asking around town, I found a class and called Carmen back. I told her the cost and that if they could help even a little, I would gladly come back. She said that she would get back to me.

After about a day she called back and said that my flights were covered. That if I got certified, that my flights and a place to stay would be provided for the entire time I was there and even said I could go to WC with them.

So for a little more than three weeks, I am making a wonderful trip to Olympia, WA.

WASHINGTON GET READY, FUN IS ON THE WAY!!!

Jamestown

2009-05-21T05:52:00.007-05:00

Jamestown is where America started. Jamestown Island is where there is excavation going on and they are finding the clues to jump back in time and understand history as we know it

an ariel view of the scale model of Jamestoen Fort

Dr. Day with Dr. Kelso (the guy who wrote our book and is the head archeologist on the Jamestown site

The first church built in Jamestown (which makes it the oldest protestant church in America)

Me in a well...

Sifting through the bucket of dirt brought up from "the first well"

Dr. Shay encouraging us to stay off the beaten path

Group Shot with John Smith

Me and Beth off the beaten path

And beyond closed fences

Us inside the pub clinking our glasses

And drinking them down

A replica of one of the ships that brought the first 104 settlers

The cargo hold

Ready to go and waitng on our professors, what else is new.

Airport Fun

2009-05-18T08:20:00.003-05:00

So I got up very early this morning and drove to Little Rock National Airport where I am now sitting at gate 7 waitng for a steel bird to take me to Richmond, VA. We all arrived before our professors and took funny pictures that will be posted shortly after arriving in Williamsburg ,VA.

Graduation Pictures

2009-05-15T20:44:00.007-05:00

G-Day (Graduation Day)

2009-05-15T05:44:00.002-05:00

I have this cool littel tool on my phone. It is a counter that tells you how many days until a certian date. So about two months ago, I put May 15, 2009 in and labled it graduation day. This morning when my alarm went off and I rolled over and turned it off, my phone said Days till Graduation-0.

Thats right everyone, in just over three hours from now I will be starting a journey that I don't even think that I could have seen coming five years ago. But it is all surreal. I am sitting in my dorm after completely packing everything (well almost everything) and it is so bare, btu as I was packing I began to think of everything that I have learned since being at the University of Arkansas at Monticello...here are just a few:

1. Be careful when trying to trick someone, it could backfire.

2. Wisdom can come from anywhere...you just have to have your ears tuned in.

3. I want to boil...not just be hot water.

4. That I became old way to early (at least thats the way I saw it).

5. No matter how many times you hear a story, something can always surprise you.

These are just a few of the many lessons that I have learned here. Many more can be seen in my archives. Now its time to get ready...

Graduation...Is it Really Happening

2009-05-13T10:13:00.002-05:00

It is official! In two day I will be a college graduate. It is all so surreal, because I feel like it was only yesterday that I stepped onto this campus as a freshman.

It was a hot August day in the Fall of 2004 and I was checking in for summer band to start. I was only three days from returning from Kennewick, WA where I had spent the past three months. We had a day full of meetings and then woke up at 6 the next morning for some PT (which is a tradition that I am so glad the abolished in the proceeding years). After three days, and being away from home again and not knowing anyone, I was ready to go home and told my grandparents that I would give it to the end of the week.

On Friday, we were out on Spirit Field having sectionals going over our music when Mr. Meggs called me over to where he was. There was a man there that I had never met before in the circle of band directors.

"Amanda I was to introduce you to Rob Leonard, "Mr. Meggs started, "He is the director of the MBSF and I was telling him about your mission trip. He would like to hear more about it"

Well he did want to hear more about it and I was more than willing to oblige. Since that day was only a half day for us in the band, Rod invited me to go eat lunch with him and a few of the members of the MBSF. I went and was able to tell about my trip and hear about the trip that they went on to Belize. It was at that moment that I knew I was exactly where I needed to be and I decided to stay.

Now, five years later, I see that moment as a pivotal point in my collegiate career. Thank Rob for being willing to open the door to someone that you had never met. Thank you Mr. Meggs for introducing me to Rob (because without doing so, I probably never would have stayed).

I'm graduating!

Thinking About Easter part 2

2009-04-24T12:30:00.003-05:00

So it has now been two weeks since easter and a lot has happened, and I have been doing a lot of studying and reading since that day and there is one thing that I still can't wrap my mind around, "Why would Jesus, while in the garden begging for the cup to be taken from him and stainning so hard that he was sweating blood, pray for me?"

Usually, when I am going through struggles I pray, but not for anyone else. I am usually praying for God to take the cup from me, and then give him a list of compromises that i will 'try' and uphold so that I can get out with as little pain as possible. Then I read the gospel acount of Jesus' prayer in the Garden before the soldiers arrested him. He prayed for his disciples, he prayed for those who would betray him, and the he prayed for the future believers. I was dumb struck. Jesus, when he could have called down legions of angels to save himself, was thinking about you and me and desided that we were worth the agony that He was about to endure. It is a humbling experience.

I want to try and think of others more than myself. I want to try and help others no matter what struggles I am going through myself. I want to consider others worth everything to save them.

this is a pic to Joe Matthews when we bought WalMart out of easter eggs for rez week.

Thinking about Easter- Part 1

2009-04-11T09:19:00.002-05:00

While reading and studying about Jesus' life over this past week, I found myself in the Garden of Gethsenemie for a few days. I read about Jesus going to pray, the disciples sleeping and having to be wakened, and I read about Jesus sweating blood. I read about Judas betraying and leading a group of soldiers to the garden and giving Jesus into their hands with a kiss.

And then all chaos broke loose. There was a struggle, and at some point in this struggle, Peter grabbed a soldier's sword and cut off his ear. Then in the middle of a struggle of his own, Jesus bent down, took the ear off the ground and placed it back on the solider's head. The soldier was completely healed. That is where I want to stay right now.

This soldier woke up that morning. Probably ate a breakfast that his wife had cooked. He probably saw the kids off and kissed his wife on the cheek before heading to work. After a rather long day he is given one more assignment in the middle of the night. He and a group of other soldiers on the night shift follow a man (who up until this point had been a close follower of Jesus) who is supposed to hand over a man with a kiss. Then as they start to arrest Jesus, his disciples try and fight back, and this soldier gets his ear cut off with his own sword.

I don't know about you, but I think that that probably hurt, a lot. He probably bent over in pain, and was looking for relief. Then his eyes met Jesus' and Jesus told his guys to stop fighting. Jesus bent over to this solidier and touched him. Physically touch his head ans healed his ear. And I can only think that that soldier was changed forever that night. I think that Jesus not only healed his physical need, but toughed his soul. When he returned home, I garuntee that he had a life changing story to tell his family. Who knows how much impact this man had on those around him for the rest of his life?

Hope for Katie

2009-03-15T06:36:00.002-05:00

Last night as we were leaving our Hotel in Indianapolis, we debated on where we were going to eat. Rob had said something about going to Taco Bell earlier, but no he was thinking Wendy's. After the day of work that we had had, we wanted the shorter of the two so we said how about Taco Bell. So we (slightly illegally) walked actoss the street to eat.

as we were waiting in line and for our food, Richard Eberly noticed a ring on the finger of the guy standing behind us with his family. Richard asked him about it. The guy said that it was a high school football state championship ring (which is school had won three years in a row). As they were talking and then as Rob got involved, Rob found out about a place that we know we were meant to go.

After walking across the street opposite our hotel we were all wondering what was going on and where we were going. We ended up at a lodege that was hosting a benefit for St. Baldrick's Cancer Researh and we met a girl named Katie. Katie is a 17 year old who just made her high school softball team. But what is so incredible about that is that she has cancer (the same kind that Cami Woods had) and has been going through cemo for years. The Benefit was that people (men and women) donated $100 to get their heads shaved. We had six guys that did it, and the rest of us were tearing up watching it happen,

We followed God's leading and siezed a moment and God blessed us more that ever. Now Katie's family is curious and we have created a lot of buzz in this community.

God leads and we follow

Wisdom from a Good Friend

2009-03-03T19:11:00.002-06:00

Today I had a free period so I decided that I would go to the Vera Lloyd and see what was goin on. When I got there the boys were still playing basketball so I sat in the bleachers to watch. After they were done, I had to run and take care of some errands, so I started to leave. As I was leaving so was Jack Cross, a really good friend of mine. He asked me how things were going:

"They're going. Just two and a half months left," I replied.

"They sure go by fast don't they? I don't think I can express to you the feeling that you get when you graduate college."

"You know Jack, as much as I have grown and have this core group of friends, I never saw Monticello as where I would end up. And it is hard to say that."

"I know what you mean"

We went on to talk about where I am headed. I really can't say for 100% sure what I will be doing next fall. Will I be teaching? Working with a missions organization? Moving back to Texarkana? Going to Africa? I don't know, but what I do know is that I am scared.

Then Jack said, "you know we have talked over the last few years about this being a launching pad. And that is what it will be for you"

What great words that I needed to hear at that moment. When I think of those who have been teaching me for the past five years:

Rob

Jack

Karen

Carla

Carole

Mr. Fellows

Chad

Becca

Brooke

The more that I don't want to leave this place. So my prayer for now is not just God show me your will and help me to follow it, but send people into my life to take the place of those mentors and friends that I am about to say goodbye to.

Thanks for the talk Jack.

A Search for Faith

2009-02-27T19:23:00.003-06:00

When I was five, my grandparents took on vacation with them to Houston, TX. My grandfather had some sort of firefighter's conference, and that meant a great trip for me and my grandmother. The first day that we arrived at the hotel, I was overwhelmed. Well we got check in and moved into out temporary home for the week, then we hit the favorite place of any five year old at a hotel, we headed for the pool.

So we got to the pool and my grandpa got in and i was standing on the side of the pool and he yells jump. So what did I do? I jumped! But why? Because I knew that no matter what, my grandfather was going to catch me.

Why can't I have that kind of faith in God? A kind of faith where I would be able to jump when he says just because I know that he is there to catch me.

Now back to Houston. I remember the time when I jumped and my grandfather let me go under water for the first time. I was scared, panicy and felt like I swallowed the whole shallow end of the pool, but my grandfather grabbed me and calmed me down.

God is just like that. These last few days I have been studying about faith and what it is. Hebrews 11 is where I went to first and verse one shot out at me:

"Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certian of things you can not see"

As I read the verse over and over again, the word 'now' stands out. Why is that word there? Well because chapter 11 of Hebrews is flowing right out of chapter 10 (imagine that). The last two verses show that:

"38 But my righteous one will walk by faith, and if he shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not amoung those who shrink back and thus perish, but are amoung those who have faith and preserve their souls"

Faith is the corner stone of our relationships with God, but it is not always easy. He never said that it would be. So now I sit here and I think that I am hearing the voice of God say "jump" and I am about to get wet!

2008 NCAA Footbal

2009-01-09T09:34:00.004-06:00

For those of you who don't know, I am a huge college sports fan. And my favorite would have to be, NCAA Football. In lue of the season ending last night, I wanted to put in my take on the season that was.

This college football season found the number one spot on the totem pole to be cursed. Georgia is the preseason #1, but drop that to USC after week one. USC loses to the team that gives them trouble every year, Oregon State, in week five and gives the spot up to Oklahoma University. Nobody gave anybody a chance to beat OU until they met Texas in the Red River Shootout where Heisman hopeful led his team to a fourth quarter comeback to gain top position in the rankings in week 7. After wins to Missouri (who everyone thought would roll over Texas) and Oklahoma State, Texas get beat in the last second to Texas Tech giving Alabama the slide into the number one slot. Where they stayed until getting beat by Florida in the SEC Championship game, putting OU back at #1 (which I still don't agree with because Texas beat them, but hey when you score 60+ in five games people will vote for you). Then in the BCS Championship Game Florida beats Oklahoma 24-14 and once again a number one team gets knocked off.

Now here are some of my most surprising games of the 2008 season. Week four brought us two of them. Although that is the week that Texas beat Arkansas, I would have to give the shockers to Ole Miss and Oregon St. Ole Miss beat Florida by blocking the point after atempt that would have sent the game into overtime. Although USC has had trouble there in the past, I thought that going to Oregon St. was an easy win for them, I was wrong and this knocked the out of contention. Not only did Georgia lose to Alabama in their fifth game of the season, they got slaughtered. I thought that it was going to be a low scoring defensive game, but I was wrong and Alabama shocked me. None of the Texas wins shocked me because I knew that people were under rating the all season, but the loss to Texas Tech was a shocker (especially when a freshman middle line-backer has a sure fire game clinching interception and he drops it). I don't think that anyone thought that Arkansas had a chance against LSU, but boy what a game.

Now for my bowl game ideas. Give props to TCU for defeating Boise State, I didn't think they were going to. The Oregon St.-PITT game was a defensive battle and ended up with a baseball type score of 3-0 (I had never seen this before). LSU Slaughtered Georgia Tech (and the LSU place Kicker gets my toughness award after taking one of the best hits I have ever seen while trying to recieve and on-side kick). Ole Miss showed up to play in their 47-34 rout of Texas Tech. Utah shocked the Tide with a display of why they should be considered for at least a share in the National title by being the only undefeated team. Texas pulls out a win against The Ohio St. with 16 seconds left the clock after an 80 yard drive led by Hiesman runner-up Colt McCoy. And the big kahuna, Florida defeats Oklahoma to become the BCS champions.

Everyone need to be ready of the Longhorns next season. With McCoy and Jordan Shipley returning, along with most of the defensive core, look for them to be a force to recon with. And here is my prediction of the 2009 Hiesman trophy winner:

Welcome to the Chancelor's List Ms. Kinney

2008-12-12T22:44:00.003-06:00

First thinks first, I need to appologize for taking so much time to update this blog. Sometimes school gets really bust and there isn't much time for the blog world (especially when one paper is 75% of your grade).

Well Finals are over and I am still in Monticello. My grades were all posted today and I have all 'A's for the first time since I have been in college.

So there you go, short and sweet and hopefully more psot will be coming during Cristmas Break

God Doesn't Make Since

2008-09-29T22:14:00.004-05:00

I have probably had one of the hardest weeks ever-this past week.

I found out last Friday that my Grandfather had a stroke on Tuesday. This means that he wasn't going to make it to family day at UAM so my grandmother, dad and Debbie came over. The Weevils lost in a rough way and we were kind of down. I went to my dorm and stayed up playing Scatagories with some friends. I fell asleep at 1:45 am and was awakened by a phone call to get to the ER.

Well you know the rest of that Story.

This storm I am in seems to be ending, but I think that it might just be a clearing and there's another front coming through. Rob was telling us the other day that God doesn't make since in how he does things. His Word tells us that he doesn't give us more than we can handle, but I am beginning to sink. I need help.

Just be praying for me and my family.

Friends Don't Let Friends...

2008-09-29T09:25:00.003-05:00

Something has got to change.

Saturday night, after hanging out with some friends playing scategories, I went to sleep at about 1:30 in the morning (Sunday). Then I began to live my worst nightmare.

I got a phone call at about 2:00 in the morning saying that I needed to get to the hospital, that my brother was in a wreck. I jumped up and in a state of confussion, I got in my car and drove the mile from campus to Drew Memorial where I found Adam, one of my brother'e friends, outside the hospital. He told me that Joey had been hit by a drunk driver going way above the speed limit and that he was fine (the greates words I have heard in a while). Joey broke his leg.

What gets me the most upset, it that the guy that was driving the other car had already gotten two DWI's and had his licence revoked. Yet this guy was still driving. Something has got to change in this town, in this nation. We need harsher punishments.

Next time, we might not be this lucky.

This is what Joey's truck looked like after the wreck.

My Heart...

2008-09-25T10:46:00.003-05:00

There are certian moments that remind you how little time we all have here on this planet.

On Monday I had a friend die in a tragic car accident. My heart sank. To think about how Rooster touch my life and those around him, my heart breaks and tears fall. Within me I am sad that I will never see him again, but then a flicker of joy springs up within me because I know that right now he is in the Father's arms and there is no other place I would want my friend to be.

Whi tthis tragedy I am reminded that we are not promised tomorrow. We need to live every moment like it could be our last. Talk to as many people as we can and try to make a difference in others' lives.

Dustin "Rooster" Ferguson will be missed, but his spirit will always be remembered.

you can read a little about Rooster and the accident here

Until We Meet Again...

2008-09-04T13:31:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I found out that one of my friends grandmothers passed away in a tragic train accident.

I met Mrs. Pat three years ago when Adrian and I helped Pastor Dan move his parents from Hellena, Montana to Olympia, Washington. Mrs. Pat (his mom) and I rode in her car the whole ten (well it seemed more like 15) hour trip back. I got to know a lot about her and she was an amazing person

My heart and soul go out to the Panter Family...Ms. Pat, you will be missed.

you can read the news article about the wreck HERE

Sorry Ryan...Not Today

2008-09-03T20:07:00.002-05:00

There is something to be said for a come from behind victory that just make me go weak at the knees. Especially when I am the one that comes from behind to win.

Ryan and I were sitting in the center and we desided to play a little game of NCAA football 2009 on the XBox 360. He picked Nevada, so I thought that I would go easy on him and picked Idaho (GO VANDALS!!!). I started out pretty rough (being distracted by phones ringing and friends needing to talk). There was a point when I didn't even realize that he had scored two touchdowns.

The second half was mine. I was down by two touchdowns and a field goal. I was coming back (slowly but surely). With 29 seconds left I got the ball down by five points. After he sacked me (and I let the clock run to eleven seconds) I decided to go for the hail mary...the first one was an incompletion...and I had six seconds on the clock after I called time out. With one more Hail Mary (and a sould have happened pick that didn't) my reciever came down with the ball and was all alone to the end zone...and with the extra point I won 42-40.

Not today for you Ryan...

Congradulations Zeb

2008-08-30T20:22:00.004-05:00

As I sit here and post yet another entry in my blog, one of my really good friends is getting married and I am not there.

I met Zeb in Chicago, IL on June 10, 2007. We were both on a PIONEER"S Edge team heading for Greece (along with Jarred, Anna, Sarah, Margaret and Becca) for the entire summer. Arfter our orientation was over, we packed our bags (well just pack what we had used at orientation) and headed for Ohare to begin our journey overseas. Zeb and I happened to have the chance to sit next to one another on the flight from Chicago to London and I will never forget those what he just thought that he NEEDED to tell me before take off:

"Have you ever seen the movie Final Destination?", Zeb asked with a sort of mischivious tone.

"No", was my answer.

"Well at the very beginning of the movie," Zeb goes on to explain, "a guy stands up on a plane and says that hes had a dream that the plane is going to explode and tries to get people to follow him off. I think Eight did, and after that very plane took off, it did explode. The rest of the movie was them trying to excape death"

"Stop...is there any particular reason you had to describe that specific movie right before our plane took off?"

"No not really"

After that conversation, I knew that Zeb and I would have a great summer. We ended up filming over two hours of interviews that I was able to show people back home about what our summer entailed.

After getting back to the states, and going back to school, Zeb met Tammy and the two of are getting married right now.

Zeb, have a great day. I wish I could have been there. I am praying for ya'll right now.

"Ciao for Now"

Prayer for my Dad

2008-08-22T08:42:00.004-05:00

About a month and a half ago, my father was in a bad car wrecka nd he broke two vertabre in his neck. My brother and I found out last night that he will be having surgury on Tuesday and we want to just ask ya'll to pray for him and the doctors as he goes under the knife.

Strike!!!

2008-08-18T15:29:00.005-05:00

So Saturday night I found myself at Timber Lodges Bowling Alley with Becca, Troy and Hiram. The four of us went head to head in a winner takes all kind of thing. Game one was kind of slow (we were all trying to get a feel for the lanes). Troy and Hiram seemed to get into a groove early, Becca and I just seemed to be holding on for dear life. I ended up scoring a 99 (and I was so mad that the last frame had a hidden pin that I wasn't expecting)

Our second game started out better (at least for me). I bowled a nin in the first frame and followed that up with a strike which was followed by a spare. That in turn was followed up by another strik and another spare. After that, I kinda hit a little rut, but I did end with a 142, which was a great game for me.

And that was the end of the bowling night for me (I wanted to end while I was ahead). The rest of the crew's last game was not much to write about.

We had a great time!!!

Random Summer Memory 3.0

2008-08-08T08:22:00.006-05:00

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Amanda. Amanda loved to go to the park at night and play on the playground, but her all time favorite thing on the playground was the see-saw. But there was one teency little problem...

Amanda had no one to play with. Which means that all she could do was see...she couldn't saw.

Amanda desided to take matters into her own hands and she whipped out her handy, dandy cellular phone and called as many people as she could think of.

all at one Amanda got really excited because...

Her bestest friend Jamie came to play with her.

Together they could see-saw, and they had a wonderful time.

Amanda finally got to see and saw on the see-saw.

and Jamie had fun too.

Amanda and Jamie were bestest of friends and lived happily ever after.

Summer Memory (2005) 2.1

2008-07-24T08:22:00.003-05:00

So each summer, Pastor Dan and his fam take the summer missionaries to Seattle. This trip is a time to get to know each other and just have some fun. One of Pastor Dan's favorite places is Pike Place Market and that is where he wanted to take Adrian and me.

They had all kinds of stores. There was a lefty store (everything is made for left handed people) where I picked something up for my brother. There were several sports stores, toy stores, and clothing stores. But best of all there was a farmers market with every type of fruit, vegetible, and meat that you could think of. This is also the place where they throw the fish.

But my favorite placea Pike Place was across the street:

The first ever Starbucks stands in all its glory. And of course I had to go in and get a Mint Mocha-Chip Frappachino.

The trip with Pastor Dan wasn't our first to Seattle though. Samantha had taken Adrian and me to Seattle (really just to go and eat somewhere). But when we got there, we desided that we would go to the Space needle. It was a beautiful sunny day and we knew that if we waited until Pastor Dan took us we might not get such a great day. So we went and had a blast.

Summer Memory (2005) 2.0

2008-07-23T11:03:00.003-05:00

The summer of 2005 saw me once again in the wonderful Ever Green State, however this time I would be spending it with McKenzie Baptist Church in Olympia. As with each summer missions trip, orientation was the first stop for yours truly.

It was back ot Portland for three days of orientation (where Thursday afternoon was set aside for us to have a free day). I met my summer missions partner, Adrian, at the airpot when we flew in. We hit it off prttey fast and I knew that this summer was going to be great after only the first five minutes of hanging out with him.

We met Pastor Dan the second day of orientation and the three of us threw the frisbe around as we got the down low on what we would be doing over the summer and what our expectations were and what his were for us. Then came our free day.

Pastor Dan took us to Multanomah Falls (which are just breath taking). Adrian had never been there and this was my second trip. We had a great day of hiking and taking pictures and just getting to know each other.

This summer was going to be a blast. Stay tuned for more.

Multanomah Fall

World Changers-Florence, AL a.k.a. A Week with the Toe Nails

2008-07-16T08:57:00.005-05:00

So this past week I was a crew chief at a World Changers project in Florence, AL. I went there because the church that I worked at for two summers in Olympia, WA was coming down and my first summer missions partner was going to be there also (and I couldn't let them have a reunion without me). So I went. I drove six hours to meet them and start working hard.

Now, as a crew chief I was going to be in charge of a crew. There is where the Toe Nails were started. The youngest crew at World Changers (I being the youngest crew cheif and having the youngest crew encourager). Our kids were pretty young too, which kind of worried me because we were going to be doing a roof and you have to be at least 16 to get on the roof.

Sunday was when we met and we went to Parkview Baptist Church in Tuscumbia to worship together. After church was over and we visited the site of our home owner, our driver took us to UNA to see the lions and we got our first crew photo.

Gareth, Katie, Mitchell, Hannah, Leslie, Me, Ashley, Briteny, and Caleb were the nine Toe Nails on our little adventure. We rode around on "Old Faithful" (well at least for part of the week until we deemed it unsafe to drive, thats a story in itsself)

Along wit hreplacing the roof, we also got to tear down and build a porch in the front of the house we were working on.

The roofing crew did an amazing job and we got alot done in a short amount of time. This is all of them (minus me) and I think they deserve a standing "o" for the amount of work they did put in last week.
And then there were my grounds crew (ashley, hannah, and caleb). They did some amazing work. You already saw the porch, but another job of theirs was to pick up the site and keep it clean (and find tools that we happened to misplace)
I think that my favorite part of the week was teaching the roof girls how to smoke a nail instead of hitting it thirty times to see it go in.
And needless to say I had to try and stay out of the pictures (Aren't I hiding pretty well?)
With one side done and the other in progress we wan'ted to have a little fun during one of our breaks (which is where this picture came from)
On Monday my crew encourager got sick so I had to ground her (literally). She was a good sport about it though.
And there we are on the tip top of our roof, however I think that this was taken on Friday and Leslie was not supposed to be up there (don't tell anyone)
Mitchell was a work-horse. He was the one who wanted to put the cap on the top of the roof and then...
...we were finished.
Hope you enjoied a little recap of the week I spent in Florence, AL as a World Changer. One last group picture of...The Toe Nails' toenails!

Sojourner Memory 1.2

2008-06-27T09:51:00.002-05:00

The week after Reata Springs, we went to a church in Hermatige, OR. The difference this week was that we would be joined by the team of Laura and Hannah (Hannah is the one picking her nose). We were so excited to be doing VBS again for a different church (but it was still the same theme-Rickshaw Ralley).

We got to meet the new youth director (who had only been there for like two weeks and he and his wife had moved from TEXAS). They were so much fun. Lupe was pregnant, about 2 months, and Jeff was just loving being in Oregon. They are both teachers, and they both love working with youth and children. It was their job to get VBS rolling and they were the ones who assigned the jobs.

And then there was Troubador. He was probably one of the wildest kids that you will ever meet. A true handful he was. He fell in love with Hannah and so they were hard to break up when it was time for us to leave.

Fun time all week on the Far Out, Far East, Rickshaw Ralley Racing to the Son.

Sojourner Memory 1.1

2008-06-26T08:19:00.003-05:00

After our first week of orientations and odd jobs here and there, it was time for our group of eight to split into our teams of two. Erin and I were teammates and our first assignment...Reata Springs Baptist Church. This was one of my favorite weeks of the whole summer.

Each new church we went to meant a new host family for Erin and Me. At Reata Springs, we had our favorites, Mark and Tammy. They were amazing. Both of them grew up in Mississippi. One went to the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and the other went to Mississippi State University (MSU). Both of them work at the Wal-Mart distribution plant right outside of the Tri-Cities (which is how they got to Washington in the frist place). They are a couple of great people.

Mark was like our stay at home dad all week. We did VBS every morning and handed out flyers for the block-party in the afternoons, but nights were full of fun. MArk and Tammy would take us to get ice-cream, mark stayed up and watched a "chick-flick" with us (which turned to be a straight sports movie with like a guy and girl talking a total of three times in the whole thing, which to Mark constituted a "chick-flick"). Mark even took us to the distribution plant one afternoon and we got to go into the freezer.

Mark and Tammy were great and I will always remember them. I wonder what they are doing right now?

Coming soon Sojourner memory 1.2 and look for Olympia Memories.

Character Goes a Long Way...All the Way to Home

2008-06-18T11:23:00.005-05:00

The top of the second inning, Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky comes up to bat with two runners on. She swings the bat and the ball sails over the left field fence. The first homerun of her career (well the first of her lifetime) Sara is so excited that she misses first base. As she turned to go back she fell to the ground and crawled back to first. She had just torn her ACL and couldn't finish her trot. If anyone on her team was to tend to her, she would be called out. If a pinch runner were entered (as the umpires said on that day) it would be ruled a two run single.

That is when the greatest act of sportsmanship began to unravel. Mallory Holtman, a Central Washington Senior playing in her last home game, asked if here and a teammate could carry Sara around the bases to award her the homerun that she had earned. And that they did, stopping at each base to allow her to touch it with her good foot. The three run homerun wound up being the game winner, but the character of the girls from Central Washington will be what is remembered by the crowd of almost 100.

I have always heard that you only have one chance to make a first immpression. Your character is what people will remember.

When we just forget about ourselves and start thinking about others, that is when our character will begin to take shape. All Mallory had to do was stay quiet and the outcome of that came might have turned to her favor. But she didn't! She said that she did what she would have wanted someone else to do for her. Sara will never forget Mallory and Mallory will never forget Sara. This first impression was priceless.

So our lesson today is to build good character, it lasts a lifetime.

To see the ESPN clip click here.

Sojourner Memory 1.0

2008-06-17T11:11:00.002-05:00

My first summer mission trip took me all the way to the tri-cities of Washington state. along with eight other missionaries, I was stationed in the Columbia Basin Baptist Association. We were split into teams of two and went to different chruches each week to help them run their VBS, we were counselors at youth camp and my partner and I got to go to Jericho 2004.

These eight girls made my summer. Although during the week we were separated, the reunions ath the white house were the best weekends ever. I hope you enjoy as a take your through memory lane this week in the CBBA.

Front: Sarah, Amy. Jenna

Middle: Hannah "Bessie", Kelly, me

Back: Laura, Erin, Amanda

An Idea I Had

2008-06-13T16:26:00.004-05:00

With this being the beginning of summer (and with me having not posted in like three months) I thought that I would add a new section to my blog. I have been on a summer mission trip every summer since I graduated high school and this will be my first one at home (well at school rather).

I will go through memories from the previous four summers and try and take you on an exciting journey from Kennewick and Jericho to Olymipia and World Changers to Greece and Porto Astro. I hope that you will enjoy my memories, but also learn something that helps you a little more.

Coming Soon: Sojourner Memory 1.0

The Excitement of the New

2008-03-03T16:17:00.000-06:00

So I have this friend. I promised that I wouldn't name this friend when I told this story. So just for now, this friend will be named Egg.

Well, Egg got a new phone for Christmas. And like anyone does when they get something new, Egg started using it. And not just calling people, but texting them as well. Well when Egg's parents got their phone bill after that first month, it was the size of a phone book. Egg had sent over 5000 messages, in 28 days. That averages out to about 200 a day.

Isn't that how we all get? We get something new and we ware it out when we first get it. Like it is gold and we have to latch on to it. But then what happens? It gets old and we gradually lose that flare for it, and eventually it winds up in the box in your attic and you forget you even have it.

Isn't that how we are with our faith? When we first accept Christ into our hearts, all we can think about is telling others about our life change. We ware our faith out. We go to every conference, camp and we can't stay away from church. Our bible is the only book we read, and prayer is like breathing. And little by little we stop telling people. We might miss this conference or that camp.
We might crack our bibles open every once in a while and prayer only happens when we need it. It's like we pack our faith up and put it in our hearts attic and kinda forget that it is there.

We need to get back to the faith that we had at the beginning. We need to tell everyone and anyone that we can find about what Christ has done in our lives. We need to pray like there is no tomorrow. We need to read like there is no other book in the world. We need to unpack our faith from where we've tried to hide it, dust it off and put it back into action.

WE NEED TO BE LIKE EGG!

To Catch a Train

2008-02-23T16:12:00.000-06:00

We've all seen that famous scene in like every old western movie. The hero, to save the damsel in distress that was just kidnaped by the bad guy, ride his galliant steed and catches the train. Just in time to jump from his horse to the cabbose.

Now, what would have changed if the hero would have waited by at the next check point and as the train sped by, just jumpped and tried to land on the Train? I don't know about what is going through your head right now, but I think that certian scene wouldn't make it to print because it would have failed.

When you are going the same speed as the train, it is easier to jump on.

Too often new believers tend to jump when they are not ready, which usually leads to a huge fall. The Holy Spirit is moving at a great speed and we just can't jump on, we have to be going the same speed before we can leap.

Lately I have been looking at the small things in my walk. I have started reading and studying a lot more. I want to be going at full speed so that when I jump, I can land on what I am suposed to and not end in tragedy.

Out of the Valley

2008-02-18T16:09:00.001-06:00

In our walks with Christ we tend to find ourselves on mountians or in valleys (or somewhere in between). When we are on those mountians, we feel that we are as colse to God as we can get while on this side of eternity. And when we are in those valleys, we feel so far away that we might not ever get picked back up.

Now over the past couple of weeks I have been in a very deep valley. I have felt so distant from God. And no matter what I tried or how hard I climbed, I could never find myself on the upward slope of the next mountian.

This past weekend, I sought the cross and I clung to it. And now I think that I am finaly on an upward climb, and it feels great. I just hope that I don't stall out on a ledge. I want to make it to the peak of this one.Something is about to happen.

Wisdom From Hitch

2008-02-16T15:50:00.000-06:00

So I am alone on another weekend, but hey I am used to it. So what else would I do with my alone time but watch movies.

I was watching Hitch. Will Smith plays a match maker who gets this nerdy guy and this actress together. Well in his montelogue athe the very beging of the movie, Hitch says something that we can all learn from.

"Life is not about the number of breaths we take, it's about the moments that take our breath away."

That is a great line. Let us really break that one down.

Breathing is an involuntaty action that we just do, we don't have to think to ourselves "breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out". Too often, we tend to concentrate on those small things that happen to us (that we really have just as much control over as out breathing). We focus on what we should have done to avoid it, what might have been, and how to fix the whole thing. But when we focus on the small things, we miss those things that take our breath away, we miss the big things.

This weekend I was supposed to be in Dallas at the Passion Conference. So many little things came about to keep me from being there. And I have been focusing on the small things about it. "If I would have only done this" or "If I hadn't done that". I was focusing so much on the small things, I think that I have missed that moment that was meant to take my breath away. I know that there is still tomorrow, but I know now to stop focusing on the things that I can't control and to look for why I am here.

DON"T FOCUS ON THE SMALL THINGS, GO AFTER THE BIG ONES!

Its All About Perspective

2008-02-08T10:14:00.000-06:00

So when I went to Greece, my team and I visited the Acropolis. On top of the Acropolis is the Parthenon. Well I handed my camera to Anna and asked her to take my picture. From where I was and the angle of the camera, the parthenon looks so big.

Well Zeb then asked me to take his picture. From where he was standing and the angle of the camera, the parthenon look small (almost like he is about to push it over).

It is all about perspective!

When we start to look at our spiritual leaders, we tend to think that their faith is so big. That they have the closest relationship with God, and that their prayer life is incredible. But maybe it isn't that theirs is as big as we think, but maybe it is that ours is so small. When we start comparing ourselves to others, we always tend to find something that we aren't doing as well.
I want my faith to withstand comparison. I don't want to be small spiritually.

Prayer Request: Things are About to Blow

2007-10-26T08:32:00.000-05:00

In just over six months I graduate for the University of Arkansas at Monticello. I will be a college graduate. So what, may you ask, is the problem?

I have no clue what I am going to do after this time of my life is over.

I know that God has something huge for me. And I am ready to go to where ever he is calling me, but the thing is I have no clue where I am headed.

The fall of 2004 was when I got to Monticello. There is no doubt that this is where God wanted me, and he has made that apparently clear. But he has also made it clear that I do not need to stay here.

These last few months I have been trying to figure out what God has for me next. Where do I go? What am I going to do when I get there? How am I going to get there? These are the questions that I can't seem to get any more light on. There are many opportunities, but there can only be one descision.

Last night might have been the start of something huge. At first I tried to ignore it, but the more that I wrap it around my brain, the more that I think that it is a huge possibility. We are on the verge of something huge, and I want to be right in the middle of it when it happens.

I might be going to BOSTON.

Pray for me, Travis, Jack, Karen and Micheal. Pray that God will make it apparently clear what we are to do about this. Pray that if it's not us, that God will raise up those who are supposed to go. And more than anything, pray that God will prepare the hearts of those in Boston for whoever he sents.

Boston get Ready!

We Need to Get Our Passion Back

2007-10-25T10:00:00.000-05:00

Passion- any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling

Man can we get passionate at football games. When our team scores a touchdown, we scream and holler. When the refs call bad calls on our team, we usually start yelling at them because they didn’t see what we saw. When our tam gets behind, it takes all that we have to not get down on the field to play ourselves. And I can’t even begin to explain that felling that you get when your team wins the game that they weren’t supposed to win. All this for a football game, that, in three years, will have no significance.

Why aren’t we this passionate about the works of God. Why do we stay silent when someone makes a life change? Why, when the spirit moves us, can we not lift our hands and shout for what God is doing in our life? How can we just sit back and watch and not want to join in?

We need to reevaluate what our passions are. We need to get out of the “I have to” mind set and get in to the “I get to” mind set. In a schedule centered society we need to break the mold and start to do things that we want to do. Because it means so much more to someone when you get to give them a gift than when you have to give them a gift.

GET PASSIONATE!!!

Sold Out For Real?

2007-10-19T18:13:00.000-05:00

The last time I was on a high dive, I was scared out of my mind. I was in Scropenaria, Greece and I was on a plank 14 feet above the Agean Sea. The water was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom. With my knees buckling I had a descision to make,

Was I complety sold on the Idea of jumping, because once I jumpped, I was going in.

I am ready to see a change on this campus. I am ready to see a banner fly high:

"ONE Race, ONE King, ONE Kingdom"

In order for this to work, everyone has to be completely sold out for the idea. Just saying it and not doing anything about it won't change anything. But more that doing something, we have to change ourselves and be willing for the plunge.

The thing is we can not jump and then expect not to land. Once we take off, its final (and there is no going back). To unify this campus we all have to be willing to change and we all have to be completely sold out to jump. And the reward is so worth the fall.

After finaly jumping off that plank and landing in the water I was so refreshed. The water was nice and cool after a long day of work. I was sold out for what I was going to recieve from it.

I am sold out for this campus. The question is:

WHO WILL JOIN ME IN THIS JUMP?

A Break in the Clouds

2007-10-15T11:08:00.000-05:00

The thing about storm is that they do not last forever. Eventually you will get to point when for a stint of time (even if only a quick stint) there is a break in the clouds and you get a chance to breathe.

I have been fighting a storm for a while now, but I think that I am finally seeing a break in the clouds. It doesn't necisarilly mean that i am out of the storm, it is just a time for me to think about things that have happened and see what I need to do to make the next line of clouds not hit as hard.

When we make it through a storm, we tend to use the time after to rebuilt what was broken and then let it be. But what we need to do is not only rebuild, but build it stronger and firmer than it was before. That way it is harder for the storm to damage the structure next time. I have been guilty of only rebuilding, but not strengthening it. Therfore the next storm comes and the same damage is done.

I have a break in the clouds, I need to do some reinforcing.

A Hard Fight

2007-10-14T21:01:00.000-05:00

On this road of life, why aren't there ever any road sighs that say:

"Danger: Road out ahead" or

"Do not Enter" or

"Dead End"

This has been the hardest week that I have had since getting back from Greece and I am so glad that it is over, but I can already tell that this coming week is going to be just as hard if not harder. I wish there was a way that time could stop and I could just get a break. Time to just stop and really think about what is going on.

"We need to fight for joy"

I hear these words from Rob almost every day. I want to do this very thing, fight for joy. But joy is so hard to come by right now. I am fighting for joy, but it isn't getting here. I am stuck in this state of just getting through every day and I am a wreck inside. Why does the fight have to be so hard. And right now I am fighting what seems to be a losing battle. The thing is, I really don't know how to change the tide. Satan is attacking and I can't keep this fight up too much longer.

Back in Action

2007-08-27T20:33:00.000-05:00

So, I am finally back in the saddle and going to start blogging again. My Greece blog will soon have many excerpts from my journal that I kept all summer (along with pictures) to kind of give everyone an idea of what my summer was like.

I hope that you enjoy.

No Updates all Summer

2007-06-10T00:04:00.000-05:00

So I leave my house in about six hours (yeah to excited to sleep) to head on my mission trip overseas. With internet access being so limited this summer I won't be able to update this blog during the summer.

However if I get a chance I will update my Greece blog

Catch you in August.

Fun With Becca...Before I Leave

2007-06-06T23:13:00.000-05:00

So I got a call from Becca Routt (aka Hooks) this morning and she told me that she was going to be in Texarkana. She asked if I wanted to hang out and so the fun began

It all started by going and picking her up at the optomitrist where her aunt had an appointment. Right away she showed me her new camera and the picutre taking commenced. The first one was while we were stopped at a red light for what seemed like forever.

Becca was so facinated by the multicolored fire hydrants that we heav in Texarkana and Just had to snap a shot of one of them

And I couldn't just let Becca have all the fun, so Itook the camera from her and took pictures of myself while waiting at yet another stop light.

This is probably the biggest flag in Texarkana and it is flying high at Regions bank where Becca had to stop by and make a deposit.

And while driving back to her aunt, we passed a school bus, and you know that we just had to get a picture of it (Becca did such a good job with this one)

We had a great hour and a half together. We stopped by Rue 21 and Becca got a couple of new shirts and then we went to Cold Stone Creamery (the best ice cream ever).

We did get some bad news today though. Our friend Tim is joining the National Gaurd and he is not coming back to school in the fall. It makes us so sad that we won;t have him to hang out with and stuff. I won't even get to see him before he leaves for basic because he leaves on the 14th of August and I don't get back from Greece until the 16th. I am so Sad.

I GOT MY PASSPORT!!!!!

2007-06-03T16:43:00.001-05:00

Its finally here and I am so glad to have that stress over with...now its just a matter of getting the rest of my money...

Passport is Coming (in theory)

2007-05-30T21:31:00.000-05:00

So I am now about eleven days away from leaving for Greece and even though I am still short when it comes to the finances, nothing will happen if I don't get my passport. Well I talked to the National Passport Information people and they told me that it was in the final stage and that I should get it within the week. So keep praying.

The finance thing is still a prayer request. This weekend I am having a garage/bake sale to try and make money. But keep this in your prayers.

Preparing for Rain

2007-05-09T09:25:00.000-05:00

I bet a lot of you (if not all of you) have seen the movie Facing the Giants. Well I loved the movie. And even though there are a lot of great quotes to choose from here is my favorite:

"If you're gonna pray for rain, you have to prepare the field"

So I am going to prpare my field for the rain that I know that God has in store, and this is how I am going to do it. Over the last month I have been raising money for my mission trip to Greece. To date, I have a little over $1000. Which means I am about $2000 short. But after talking to Rob yesterday and praying about it, I have come up with this: If 200 people are willing to donate $10, I will have $2000 in no time. I am preparing for a rain that I know God will send.

If you are willing to be one of the 200, contact me at hawkspg@aol.com or leave me a comment on here and I will get in touch with you on how to go about making your donation.

I have prayed for rain and prepared my field, now the rest is up to God.

PS- If you have any questions you can call me at (870) 723-7707

Harmony...

2007-04-29T14:43:00.000-05:00

Harmony [hahr-muh-nee]- 1. agreement, accord 2. a constant, orderly, or pleasing arangement of parts.

When you look at the word harmony what is the first thing that comes to your mind? To me it is music. So when Peter says "live together in harmony" I really didn't know how to relate what I know about harmony in music to harmony in life, until this morning.

In music there is no such thing as a bad note, there are only good note that are played at the wrong time. When right notes are played at the right time, it creates what we call harmony. Harmonies make a piece of music sound amazing. But one thing about harmony is that sometimes, not all the intruments are playing to create these harmonies. Sometimes it is the instrument that usually sit in the background that gets to stand out for one shining moment and take the lead. Sometime, all the instruments are playing and that just makes the harmony that much more.

In some music, there is what we call disonence. Disonence is when you tak a normal chord and you raise or drop one of the pitched of that chord to create a not so pleasant sound. Sometimes disonence is on purpose, and the main reason for disonence is to make the harmony after to sound that much better, and relieving.

Why the lesson you might ask? Well christianity is almost the same way. We are to life in harmony with one another. Sometimes this calls those who normaly take the lead, to stand back and let a background player come to the fore front every once in a while. Sometimes, the normal leaders are to take the lead with what they are given. Sometimes harmony calls us all to be silent. Disonence (disagreements) will happen, but it makes the resolution that much better.

We need to "live together in harmony."

04-16-07: A Tribute

2007-04-16T20:54:00.000-05:00

Silence

Tragedy

Calm

Fear

Community

Horror

Heroism

So many feelings, not enough words to describe them all.

To the families of the 32 victims, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

To the many students and falculty who are going to return to campus on Monday, you too are in my prayers. I can't begin to imagine what its going to be like, but stay strong and take it a day at a time.

To everyone who has been glued to the television watching it unfold, keep Virginia Tech in your prayers. And if and when someone talks to you about it, don't be afraid to talk back.

GO HOAKIES!!!

I've Been Hiding

2007-04-15T19:38:00.000-05:00

So I have been fasting from bloging for the first two weeks of April and I am back. If you will notice on the right hand side of this blog, there is a new link called Greece. This is my blog for my trip this summer to (where else) Greece. I am going to use this new blog to talk about preparations for the trip, and hopefully I will be able to update every once and a while this summer while I am there.

I want to use my Greece blog to give my prayer supporters here at home some prayer fuel for me in my preparation and for me while on the field.

Now my Greece blog will in no way take place of this blog, but while gone this summer, the Greece blog will be my primary blog.

Making a Game out of Worship

2007-03-25T23:13:00.000-05:00

When I go to baseball games I go crazy. I have my favorite players, my favorite teams, and I act like I have something to do with the outcome (no matter if it is a win or a loss). The bast games are those one in a million where you get to see one of your favorite players (or any player for that matter) break a record or reach a career milestone. You join in the player's emotions of happyness and completion, and you feel (as a fan) that you played a major role in theie success.

How is it that we can get so serious about a game and can't get serious about worship? I can't remember all the times that I went into a worship time half heartedly, and I hate saying that (but I'm coming clean). I don't want to be that way anymore. I want to worship God with everything that I have and with all that I am. I hate the feeling that I get when I know that I could have done better. It is time to stop playing around with worship and take it seriously for a change.

The picture above is of Rafiel Palmeiro getting his 3000 hit at Safeco Field. I was there and it was awesome.

What I've Learned in My 21 Years

2007-03-23T00:18:00.000-05:00

I am now officially 21 and I have got to say, I never thought I would make it this far. If anyone would have told me that I would be sitting in my dorm room posting on your blog on your 21st birthday, I would have told them:

"What's a blog?"

Anyway, I have been thinking a lot this week about what i have learned over the past 21 years and I have come up with a list:

1. Be Happy! Nothing is worth getting worked up over.

2. God only gave us one mouth, but he gave us two ears.

3. When someone says duck, they usually aren't talking about the thing with feathers.

4. The only difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little extra.

5. Sleep is a gift, do it as often as possible.

6. "No" is not a bad word, use it when needed.

7. There is no reason to worry, your parents do it enough for you.

8. If you can't stand the heat, stay off the field.

9. That there is a $550 fine for not having proof of insurance when you get pulled over in the state of Washington.

10. Your real friends stick with you when you are at your worst (and it is not always a pretty picture.

11. No matter what happens, God is always with me.

12. If you fall asleep chewing gum, you better be ready for a hair cut.

13. Orange fights are the best way to get loose before a game.

14. Water boils at 212, don't stand at 211.

21 years of life, and I am still learning. I am blessed to have had people come into my life to teach me how to live. So thanks to all who have contributed to my life lessons. And I promise that there are many many more, I just couldn't write them all down.

I'M 21 TODAY!!!

I'm Going To Greece

2007-03-22T18:06:00.000-05:00

Yes, you read it right, I am going to Greece this summer on a mission trip. This has kind of been a decision that I have come to in the last month. I wasn't really sure what I was going to do this summer (whether to take classes or to go on a mission trip has been my debate lately). Finally I desided to just let the Lord handle it and as soon as I did that, he came in fast. I got a call yesterday from the Edge (the group I am going with). Jessica gave me my interview over the phone and by the end of the conversation, I was placed on the Greece Team.

I will be based in Athens (right outside Athens) and an encampment. I will be on the Camp staff and help with lifeguarding, music, drama and other everyday camp tasks. My team will meet on June 10 in Chicago for our oreintation. After about four days we will fly out together to Athens. We will be overseas for about nine weeks. We will fly back together for a debriefing time in Orlando. Then I will Fly into Little Rock on August 16. (after that I am not quite sure, I will either come straight to Monticello for Summer band, or I will go home to Texarkana for a day or two and then come to Monticello.)

I am really excited about this. I really feel that this is where God is calling me and I know that he will provide for it. Right now, my grandparents are not 100% for me going. I ask that ya'll (my faithful readers) pray for me and my family for patience and for wisdom in this time.

I'M GOING TO GREECE!!!

Commission is Blind...

2007-03-18T23:31:00.000-05:00

I have come to the realization that people who work on commission will say anything to sell you something.

Case in point:

I went shopping with a couple of friends for my birthday (my birthday really isn't until Friday). I was wearing my camo capris and a UAM Intramurals Champion shirt (this will come into play later).

My friens and i had been walking around the mall and descided to go into Dillards to see what they had. I found the cutest top and thought that i should try it on. To the dressing room I went, followed in tow by Jamie and Nancy. I tried on the top and came to show the girls (remember that I am wearing my camo pants)

"How does it look guys?"

"Not really sure," came their reply,"turn around."

That was when I saw the sales person kinda evesdropping into our converation. So I thought that I would play with her mind a little.

"The best thing about it Jamie, is that the top goes great with these pants."

The sales person tried to hide her shock and then stated that she never would have thought to put the two together, but that it looked "alright". To which I then told her that I wore those pants into the store and that I was only kidding.

THE BIGGEST LOOK OF RELIEF CAME TO HER FACE. I wish I would have taken a picture because it was hilarious.

But it got me to thinking. She would have sold me that outfit, even though she thought it looked hidious. I guess commission is blind.

Don't Want to be Just Hot Water

2007-03-05T11:21:00.000-06:00

Let's see how good your memory is from seventh grade science class. Your question is:

At what temperature does water boil?

If you said at 212 degrees, you would be correct. Now:

What happens to water at 211 degrees?

Absolutely nothing. At 211 degrees, water is just hot. It is absolutely useless. But when it gets boiling, water is a very useful tool.

Why do you ask am I giving you a science lesson? Because most of us are just hot water when it comes to spirituallity. We are doing just enough to get hot, instead of giving our all and boiling over, to be a great tool for Gods work. Our society today is in a habit of doing just enough to get by (grades, work, dieting), and getting the mediocre rewards from that. But if we were willing to do one degree more, how much more rewarding would it be.

So I am ready to give that one degree, because I don't want to be just hot water.

Come Undone

2007-02-28T21:10:00.000-06:00

So if you haven't got the latest from Jackson Waters, you can get it on iTunes. (or if you aren't into iTunes, head to WalMart, Target, or Best Buy)

If you don't have it yet, you are missing out. it is a GREAT cd.

Wedding Pictures

2007-02-25T21:42:00.000-06:00

Tornados and A Wedding...Just another Saturday

2007-02-24T20:22:00.000-06:00

So, this weekend started off normal. I woke up (at about ten) and did laundry. Made a Walmart run with a friend (he needed laundry detergent) and watched a movie. Just an ordinary Saturday morning.

That was until the weather started to go crazy. I got a knock on my door (notice I said knock, but it was more like a pounding that scared the crap out of me) and the person on the other side said that they were evacutating the dorms to the ground floor of the UC and that we needed to go fast.

About twenty minutes later, we were back in the dorms and I desided to take a shower (I knew that the weather wasn't far from over and I knew that Jack and Karen's wedding was at six and if something else happened I needed to be ready). Well half way through shaving my legs, an RA said they were evacuating again, so I got out, dried off, threw on my sweats and ran (drove) back to the UC. This time the wait was much longer, about an hour and a half. It was five o'clock and with the wedding an hour away I decided to take things into my own hands.

I walked up to the Campus officer and asked if we could please go to our dorms and grab our clothes (I was laying on the charm thick, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do). He said he would give us five minutes to grab everything out of our dorms that we needed, but we had to change somewhere else. So the five of us (Me, lindsey, Stephanie, Harmony, and Emily) piled in my car and ran to our dorms, grabbed our stuff and headed for the church (this was at 5:15 and it was about 5:20 when we reached the church). Just let me say that at 5:45 we looked hot. And it is not easy for five girls to get ready that fast, btut we did it with style.

The wedding was beautiful. Karen's dress was breath taking. The ceremony was great. It had its moments. The cell phone that started to go off in the middle of the vows (don't people learn?) Two candles fell from the holders (but they didn't start a fire, which was good). Karen did some quick thinking when her and Jack couldn't get the unity candle to light and she had one of the groomsmen to grab one of those that had fallen and exchanged it with the one they couldn't get to light. And I guaruntee you that there was not one dry eye in the house when Rob pronounced them husband and wife.

All in all today was eventful and it is a day that I will never forget. And guess who caught the bouque? Looks like I'm the next one to get married.

**Pictures coming soon**

When God Calls...Respond (what I learned in Waco, TX)

2007-02-10T11:43:00.000-06:00

So, God really taught us a lot last weekend and I want to share with ya'll (my faithful readers) what he taught us.

When we heard about this missions conference, we thought that we knew exactaly what we were going to get. Little did we know what we were getting into. As soon as we walked in the doors, there was this air about it that just didn't feel right. But we went ahead and gave it the benefit of the doubt. After the first session Friday night, the second Saturday morning and then the breakout that afternon, we had enough. We just knew that the conference wasn't where we needed to be.

Break 1: Let me take a break here in my story to explain to you something. This killed me. I was one of the ones pushing to go to the conference and when it turned out to be what it was, I thought that I had let everyone down. I thought that I had brought the group to Waco for nothing.

Then it happened. Rob asked me to see if I could find a church that had a Saturday night service. So like any good college student, I googled it. Highland Baptist church came up in the search (the only church in Waco with a Saturday night service). Their service started at six, so we loaded up and went. As soon as we walked in the doors, we knew that HBC was exactally where we needed to be. They welcomed us like we had been there for years. Doug (the assistant college minister) brought the message. The title of his sermon, Call and Response. God calls (he initiates it) and we respond. He said that God sometimes calls us places sometimes to get us where he really wants us to be.

Break 2: Wow, this is exactally what I needed to hear. Our trip to Waco started out at the conference (how God got us there) and ended at Highlad Baptist Church (where God really wanted to takes us).

So at the end of the service the pastor got up and said that he didn't know who we were, but he wondered if he could pray for us. So we went up to the front and Rob told them our story. It turns out that their church had been debating wheather or not to keep the Saturday night service going. So not only did they bless us, but God used us to answer some of their questions.

All of this happened because God called, and we were willing to respond.

Super Bowl Prediction

2007-01-30T23:47:00.000-06:00

So, Super Bowl XLI is this Sunday (Feb 4) and it is promised to be a good one. I will be the first to say that i have no ties to either team. So I figured that I will be very impartial in my desision of who wins the big one.

The Bears have the longest streak between Super Bowl appearences and are realdy for action. The bears seem to bring a potant deffence, but they have a young quarterback who has been shown to crack under pressure.

That is why I am going with the Colts in this one. They are coming off a dramatic win against the Patriots (who were chosen to win the games by the way). Their defense might not be as strong as the Bears, but their offence seems to have one thing the bears don't, Payton Manning. Payton has been known to rally from deficit and has the most game winning last quarter drives in the last ten years. I want the Colts to win because I don't want Payton to end up like Dan Marino and be one of the best quarterbacks of all time and nit have a ring.

GO COLTS!!!!

Just Been Thinking

2007-01-23T21:07:00.000-06:00

I have been thinking a lot lately (yeah, I know a HUGE shock). Some of the stuff going on in my mind right now are a bunch of ramblings, but some of it is really deep stuff so I guess I am asking for help, advice, really anything.

Along with everything that has been going on lately, I have really been questioning why I believe what I believe and do I really know what I believe? My whole life I have been taught who God is. I have been taught that he sent Jesus to die for me, and that if I asked for him, he would change ny life. But the question that I have been fighting is "Is that deep enough?" I know that I believe in God. I know that he sent Jesus to die for me and that I have recieved him in my heart. But does my faith rely on those that have taught me and if they were to fall, would that make me fall?

That is my fear, but that is what I have been spending the last few days contemplating. I have delved into the word and have searched my heart to find exactaly where I stand. So I ask for prayer, wisdom and suport in this time of soul searching.

Jackson Waters @ UAM

2007-01-19T21:30:00.000-06:00

We over here at UAM were givin a real treat last night. Jackson Waters gave a live concert on our campus and it was amazing. I love their music so much. If you haven't heard of them than you are truely missing out on something great.

David (lead singer, guitar, keyboard)
Brian (Bass)
Toby (Lead guitar)
Jesse (guitar, back up vocals)
Ryan (Drums)

Here is the link to their mySpace one more time. Check them out.

A Person I Admire

2007-01-14T22:25:00.000-06:00

Robert Leonard is my Campus minister. These last couple of years, I have learned a lot about him and have learned a lot from him. He is a very Godly man, and he truly loves serving his creator with all he is.

Sunday morning during Sunday school, Rob taught from 1 Peter 1:13. Peter says to get ready and to keep your mind on heavenly things. Rob went on to talk about how we should never attach aorselves to anything here. We should not think of our stuff as anything that we would die if it was lost.

Little did he know, that at that very moment (or shortly there after) someone was in his house taking his stuff. Rob's house was broken into while we were at church. He lost a lot of his stuff, but they didn't take the thing that he treasured most, his faith in God to get him through.

Rob came to church Sunday night, just as normal as ever. He talked to us about what had happened and how he felt about it. His composure about he situation just reaffirms everything that he had talked about that morning. This whole situation makes me respect and admire him more. Love ya Rob!

Off to a CRAZY Start

2007-01-13T18:12:00.000-06:00

School has officially started and I think that I am going to go insane this semester (I know that i have put thsi load on myself this semester, but it is going to be a rough ride). My classes started bright and early on Wednesday morning with Calculus 3, and it will be the last egight oclock class that I will have to take. After Cal 3 I had Gen Chem 2 and that was a great class. Tuesady once again started with Cal 3, and then I had History of Math and Linear Algebra all three back to back to back (in the same class room). And on top of all that, I went to the doctor on Wed. and found out that I have an upper respitory infection and am on antibiotics right now.

The only good thing about starting classes this early is that we have a three day weekend because of Martin Luther King Day. So for me, it is a weekend of lounging with friends and watching movies.

Passion 07 Picture Book

2007-01-09T13:45:00.000-06:00

So Passion all started with a project called Touch Atlanta where everyone attending was asked to bring a towel and a pair of socks:

It was really cool to run into (or get hunted down) by those that i have met throughout the years doing summer missions.
I enjoied getting to hang out with my campus minister, Rob:
The powers of the best family group in the striped blue community group unite:

The had the Passion 06 graffiti was on display:
We were the luckiest grou ever, Shane Everret (of Shane and Shane) was our worship leader:

There were so many people there:

That I couldn't fir them all in one frame:
The CNN Center was home to our break time: The Omni Hotel was home to our community group:
The GWCC was where the Go center was located:

Talk about a great speaker, John Piper was awesome:
And who doesn't like Beth?: My friend Camie (Who couldn't go) asked me to buy her a brick for the Do something now campaign

This year's graffiti wall:
Bro. Chad's contribution to the wall
The best family group ever:

And that was Passion 07 at a glance.

God Rocked my World At Passion 07

2007-01-08T09:29:00.000-06:00

Pulling into Atlanta, GA at 2 o'clock in the morning, I thought I knew exactally what to expect from this years Passion 07 conference. Little did I know that God was just going to rock my world.

It all started with Beth Moore's main session on Tuesday Morning. She talked about to really honor God, you have to humble yourself. This was something that I had always heard but never really knew how to do it. But she said it is just getting on your knees and know with all you are that you can do nothing without God, and living your life that way.

Then Francis Chan got up that night and pretty much made us search our hearts to find how deep our love was for God. And after a search of my heart, I knew that my love was very shallow.

The next day, instead of going to a break out session, I went to the prayer journey room and spent two hours on my face before God praying for him to put on my heart what I need to do with the rest of my life. He said GO! and I answered "wherever you need me". Iraq was on my heart so I went and talked to the Freedom Center people and they told me no, that I have to graduate first.

I didn't understand, God told me to go and then mand said no. Then Louie Giglio spoke to us that night. He said "you won't know when, you won't know how, you won't know where, God just wants you to be willing to GO!" It all made since after that.

So, I don't know where, when or how, all I know is that I am going and the Jesus is going with me.

Fun With The Family

2007-01-08T09:12:00.000-06:00

What a long break...it is now time to update you on what had been going on in my world over the past four weeks.

We started out the break by geting to see our mom and brother Zach. We picked them up from the airtport and drove them to Mountian Home, AR.

We hung out...

Just goofed around...

Went to a swing dance...

And just spent time chillin'...

But I know what you are thinking to yourself right now, I didn't see a lone shot of Amanda in all of that. Where is her Portrait? Well guys, I saved the best for last. You see:

Joey got the cool tree shot.

Zachary got the action sling shot.

David got the youthful kiddie-swing shot.

What was left for me? You know how a lot of the parks you visit now have rocking horses on springs that you can play on, well this park had a huge purple dinosaur. I fell in love with it. And I think that I have the best picture out of all four of us.

You be the judge...

I Guess Cheaters do Prosper...

2006-12-18T22:05:00.000-06:00

BACKGROUND: So David, Sharon, my grandmother and I were trying to play a a friendly non-competitve game of Skip Bo. We started out playing singles and of corse I came out on top. Then we desided to play pairs (david and Sharon against Me and Grandmommie). Well my team slautered them in two back to back games, then the story takes a turn.

THE PLOT: While we took a break (and by we I mean my Grandmother and I) to go get drinks and take a potty break, David and Sharon were "shuffling" the cards. We all got back together and dealt them out.

THE RESULT: Sharon and David leave us in the dust and win the game. How could this be? They couldn't have gotten that much better in that little of time. They must have cheated.

Now I guess I do have to mention that we played another game and their team won, but not so dramatically this time. Anyone can see what happened during those few moments we were away from the table. I hope they can sleep tonight knowing that they cheated!!!

22-21...At Least That is my Ruling

2006-12-12T22:46:00.000-06:00

You know, I have had a hard time trying to deside weather or not Warren got into the endzone on Saturday night. You see they only showed that replay one, and from where I was sitting it sure looked like he got in. But we only saw the replay one time. But then I found a replay of it and have watched it over and over. It is a little fuzzy, but it sure looks like the ball broke the plane of the end zone before his knees touched the ground. You be the Judge!

FINALS ARE HERE, AHH!!!!!

2006-12-12T06:12:00.000-06:00

So todya is my BIG day of Finals. I have my geometry and my caculus 2 finals today. I am ready but then I'm not. These are those sort of tests that you can't really study for, you just have to know what to do. Last night I studied til I felt like the kid in my picture.

I guess sometimes all we really need is a good cry!!!

One Huge Mistake

2006-12-07T01:08:00.000-06:00

Do you ever think that you shouldn't have done something and wish that you could relive that moment to change it? (especially when that one thing cause a very big chain of events that seem to just be getting worse)

Well I think that I did that today and I wish I could just have that one moment back. I wish I would have never opened my mouth in the first place. (Why do we have to say what we know all the time?)

Oh what I would give for a time machine.

25 Days til Christmas...a Reflection

2006-12-01T00:11:00.001-06:00

With it being the first day of december and anly having now 25 days until Christmas, I thought that I would reflect on this special time of year.

No matter what is being celebrated at this time of year (weather Christmas or Kwanza) what is one thing that is a constent?

A Tree!!!

A tradition that started in Germany and was picked up and the implemented into the christian holiday of Christmas, the tree is a major part of it

It is the first thing that we pull out and decorate after Thanksgiving.

And it is what all the gifts go under.

But does it have more meaning than that?

When you lose something, where do you find it? (I know you are probably thinking the last place you look, but I am serious). You find it where you lost it.

In the begining, man lost something in a garden, at a tree. Eve was tempted and Adam followed suit and the two of them ate of fruit from a tree that they were not supposed to eat from. Through Adam we are all born with a sinful nature. But it all started at a tree.

Jesus was born. He lived for 33 years. His ministry the later 3. And he died for all sin where? On a tree. He had to find us where we were lost.

I hope that this Christmas, when you wake up Christmas morning, you look at your tree and remember not only the birth of our Lord and Savior, but his death and resuection that freed you from your sin

It's all about the tree.

A Few Chrismas Present Pics

2006-11-25T19:52:00.000-06:00

So this year, my brothers and I desided to do picture for our presents to our family. We do them in black and white and the put them in black frames with white paper trim around the pictures. I think that I have finally desided on the following pictures for gifts:

David Monkeying around on the Fireman's Pole

Joey Relaxing on the sit up bench

Me slidin down the tube slide

All three of us...

Happy Turkey Day

2006-11-22T11:23:00.000-06:00

Hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am taking a break for the holiday. I'll update on Sunday.

Don't eat too much Turkey!!!

I Want to be a Full Moon

2006-11-20T23:22:00.000-06:00

"What is the major difference between the Sun and the Moon?," Rob had asked.

I had crashed the fresman bible study over at his house and this question really hit me hard.

"The Sun is a source of light and the moon reflects light," came my answer.

"And when does the moon reflect the most light?" Rob came back.

"When the Earth is out of the way." I answered back.

Doesn't that statement just take your breath away? I hit me right between the eyes, and i am the one that said it. We are to reflect the light of Jesus to others. When do we reflect the best? When the world is out of the way. The moon never stops reflecting the light of the Sun, it just gets blocked by the Earth every once in a while. When Jesus comes into our hearts, we become reflectors of His light. The question then becomes, are you reflecting well?

I might not be where I need to be in that area yet. Too many times I find myself getting blocked by the world, by my nature. My reflector tends to get smudged. But I know what I want to be:

I want to be a full moon.

A New Look

2006-11-18T18:34:00.000-06:00

So I desided that it was time for a new look to my blog. I hop that you like the transformation as much as I do.

Words of Wisdom...From an Unlikley Sorce

2006-11-17T21:19:00.000-06:00

I saw Disney and Pixar's Cars for the first time tonight, and I loved it. The movie was hilarious and I wish I could watch it again. While watching it, I fell in love with Mater. It wouldn't seem likely to have learned something from him, but I did.

While teaching Lightening McQueen his special type of driving (that would be the art of driving backwards) Mater said something that really got me to thinking:

"It doesn't matter if I can see where I'm going, as long as I can see where I have been."

What a line. These last couple of weeks I have been stressing myself out over my future. What am I going to do when I graduate? When will I graduate? How am I financially going to get through the next two years? And the question just keep going and going. I have been so worried about where I am headed that I haven't been paying attention to where I am or where I've been. I have forgoten that God has provided for me these last three years, so why am I worried about he next two?

Sometimes God uses the most unlikely characters to remind us that He is whats important. So thanks Mater for shedding some light into my life.

Well...Its Official

2006-11-15T21:09:00.000-06:00

So I guess this whole internet dating thing really works.

Kious was my summer missions partner this past summer...this is her story.

Once upon a time in a land not to far from here (I think in the barren land of Kentucky) lived a fair maidden named Christine (but to her friends she was know as Kious). Kious stated a blog to scribble down her thoughts and have people read them. One day a stranger (a boy stranger at that) commented on one of those thoughts, and a spark was ignited.

Day after day, and week after week, they would comment on each others rambling blogs and it got to a point when commenting just didn't work anymoe. What was next for this maiden and her stranger?...instant messaging (yeah I know, a little high tech for a fairy tale), but anyway they started having real conversations.

Our fair maiden, took a trip to the enchanted land of the Evergreens where she met a beautiful, smart, charming, witty, sporty, young sorceres named Amanda, in whom she confided her story. As soon as our stranger asked for the fedexing of some very stylish and comfortable shoes, Amanda knew where this was going...but it wasn't until their trip the rain forrest that Amanda voiced these opinions and she whipped out her crystal ball and told the fair maiden exactaly what would happen:

"I predict see that you will be dateing byt the end of the summer. Next I see an engagement in your future, it looks like it will happen by the end of the winter. Oh but wait I see a wedding, and it is going to happen right after you, fair Maiden graduate." But it wasn't until their trip to Lebannon when these prdictions were confirmed. (see our maiden's side here)

We skip ahead a little in time and our stranger hops on a steel bird and flew over an ocean or two to capture the heart of the fair maiden. And our stranger turned out to be a handsome prince who indeed won the heart of our fair maiden and are now engaged.

All I have to say is...I better be invited to the wedding (I am the one who prdicted that it was going to happen)

This all make a wonderful story and I wish the two of them all the best. But it doesn't happen for everybody. But as you can see, it does happen every once in a while. I hope that my prince is out there. A girl can wish can't she?

Take My Quiz

2006-11-12T22:11:00.000-06:00

Lets see how much you really know about me. Here is my quiz...see how well you can do.

Bulletin Blunders

2006-11-09T19:13:00.000-06:00

I borrowed these from Dad's Place Blog...they were just too funny...I couldn't pass them up.

These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services. Enjoy!

1. The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.

2. The sermon this morning: "Jesus walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."

3. Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

4. Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

5. The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

6. Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.

7. Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

8. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

9. Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

10. The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing: "Break Forth Into Joy."

11. Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

12. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

13. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

14. Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

15. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

16. Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

17. The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.

18. Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.

19. The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

20. This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

21. Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.

22. The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

23. Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.

24. The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

25. Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

Man Kids are Exahusting sometimes

2006-11-09T19:00:00.000-06:00

Wednesday nights are full of Sparks, Cubbies, and Trainers (these are the three groups at AWANA). I help with Game Time (I am actually second in command, which means if Rob is gone, I'm in charge)

Well lets just say that these guys wore me out. I get such good sleep on Wednesday nights because of the exhaustion brought forth at AWANA. But you know something...I wouldn't want to do anything different. I love those kids to death.

These are the Sparks...I am the one in the middle with the orange hat on.