Friday, October 29, 2010

Joe

Happy 21st Birthday, Joe!

Wow, you're 21 already! I can't help but look back on days when we were little...what crazy memories we made together:)

I love it when you imitate people/things! It's so funny:)

May God bless you and give you continued strength!


Love you, Joe!


"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as working for the LORD, not for men,
since you know you will receive an inheritance from the LORD as a reward."
Colossians 3:23

Old Market Photo-shoot

Stroll hand-in-hand down the cobblestone street with the live strains of music floating in the air. Eat a romantic dinner on the roof under the stars. Or trot through streets in a horse-drawn carriage. The Old Market is the perfect place for date. But, if you're like me, and lack an essential part to this amazing evening--i.e. the guy-- don't worry...you can still have great time! Call some of your girlfriends together, visit the shops, have a photo-shoot and finish it up with some ice cream --trust me it's a whole lot of fun!

~Lydia~

~Bekah~

~Esther~

The Candy Shop

~Liz~

~Ellie~

~Me~

~Angela~

~Miranda~

~Betsy~

~Grace~

~Friends~

~The Group~

~The Wonderful photographer--Anna!~

Special thanks to Anna for taking the pictures, and Grace for coming up with the brilliant idea!


Thursday, October 28, 2010

She's amazing!


Yes! She's my sister! I claim her:)

I love this picture! It describes her perfectly. The smile, the joy, the Lord radiating through her life...

I love randomness! I love special little things that people do--just because they love me! It makes me smile and feel very, very loved. And this post, it's one of those just-because-I-love-you posts.

Esther and I are sandwiched in the middle of a bunch of boys. She's my room buddy, my confidante, my sister and my best friend.

If you want to know something about me...ask her. I have some amazing friends--who know a lot about me--but I think she wins the prize:)

Lately my schedule has been pretty busy and she has taken the brunt of it! She'll make dinner for me, gather things for GNC, tidy our room, give Grandma care, do laundry. She keeps me on course...whether I appreciate it right away or not. She reminds me that I do have a budget and that I really don't need everything that I think I do:)

She is such a blessing to everyone! And if you have never met her...you're missing out! Her ready smile never fails to cheer me up!

God knew exactly what I needed when He gave me YOU!

I love you, Esther!

"A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."
Proverbs 11:25


Thursday, October 21, 2010

A Taste of Ellerslie


How am I supposed to put into words what was experienced that weekend? We all went expecting a good conference. Expecting challenging thoughts that would cause us to think.

We all left in complete awe of who God is, and our minds were filled, not with thoughts, but with the Truth that changed our lives that weekend.


The conference was entitled "A Taste of Ellerslie". Ellerslie itself is a 10 week, intensive, leadership/discipleship training. This weekend conference was geared to give you a "taste" of what Ellerslie was all about.

Eric and Leslie Ludy are the founders of Ellerslie, as well as the authors of some of my favorite books. I would encourage you to go to their website HERE to find out more about their ministry.

Eric Ludy taught 8 different messages over the course of the day and a half that we spent on-campus. Each one of those had powerful truths that left you hungering for more of God and His Word.

Complete abandonment Christ. Giving all for the sake of His glory. Living in the victory that He has given us. Clothing ourselves with the righteousness of God. Wrestling prayer--standing with confidence against the enemy, and not backing down. The indescribable joy and peace that comes with knowing God.

These were all part of the messages that Eric preached. You can download his Sunday morning sermons here. I would highly encourage you to download a couple and listen to them!


"Don't settle for a little better then everyone else. Constantly press forward! There is no limit to Jesus Christ--it is an endless frontier. We think of Christianity as full of limits, but really it is an unlocking of who we were really meant to be. There is no limit to the life of Jesus Christ."
-Eric Ludy


"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."
Phil 1:21




Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Estes Park, Colorado


It's been over a month since we went hiking through Colorado's gorgeous mountains...but I can still feel the cold, nipping wind slice through my jacket, the burn in my legs as they carried me higher and higher, the crisp mountain air filling my lungs, the fresh scent of pine trees that surrounded me on every side, the stunning view that took any remaining breath that I had left, and the unmistakable sense of God's power and glory. I have never felt so small as I stood, surrounded by God's handiwork! I loved. every. minute. of. it!


We arrived at our hotel Thursday afternoon/evening. Supper was made in a crock pot and left at the hotel room to cook while we headed out to do some shopping. Why you would ever want to shop in Colorado, when you have mountains just waiting for you to climb, is beyond me...but a member of our party was on the lookout for a pair of ski's. Rumor had it that Colorado sometimes would have nice ski's for really cheap at pawn shops/thrift stores, so we gave it a go...but to no avail. We did stumble across a wonderful little ski/snowboarding shop that should rank #1 on customer service:)

While the skiers chatted with the ski experts, Betsy and I gazed longingly at the racks of snowboarding apparel and accessories, not mention the snowboards themselves--some of them are just so darling, but there is definitely a price to be paid for cuteness *smile*:)

The above said ski searcher found a wonderful pair of perfect ski's at the wonderful ski shop. The ski man cut her a great price, but she decided to wait and think about it. Now there just happened to a birthday that weekend, and that birthday just happened to be the same girl that wanted the ski's...so much to her delight we all pooled our money together and the wonderful ski's ended up in the van as a birthday gift! And our shopping trip ended a success!


Our crock pot lasagna was baked to perfection and was quickly consumed. A quick trip to the hotel pool was made to burn off a lot of stored up energy. A quick trip to Coldstone--with a coupon--seemed like a perfect end to the day...but not to every member of the party! Our wonderful idea was denied by the tired driver *sigh*. But it was probably a good decision seeing as though we were getting up at 4:00am to hike.

Four o' clock came early, but we were ready for it! There was long deliberation as to the choice of clothing. Long-sleeve or short, a cute shirt or a practical one? We choose the short sleeve...which was bitterly regretted as the day wore on;)

I just loved this hairstyle on Bekah! And she liked it so much that I ended up doing it several times that weekend!

I did a post just on the gorgeous scenery pictures that were taken on our hike. So I thought on this post I would post mostly people pictures!

Anna's big camera backpack was packed with camera gear...as well as a laptop that was accidentally left in the bag. Another backpack was loaded with water to keep us hydrated!


Having way too much fun!



I had done a little research on the different trails. And I finally was able to pick one that seemed to be a nice steady climb, and would bring us to the top of the mountain!


It was also a horseshoe shape trail that combined two different trail, so that way we wouldn't have to take the same way back down. But when we were supposed to switch trail to begin our descent we had not even broken tree cover yet. So we plunged off trail, following a stream, and began to really hike!!!


Still smiling, Anna?!?


Taking a quick breather...this picture is for my brother, Josh! He loves braids, so I wore them in honor of him! He is a big climber...and would have loved to be out there with us:)

The higher we got meant less oxygen in air, which made for a little harder of a climb. And towards the end we were gaining height really fast!


This picture has a whole story to go with it:)

Aaron was leading the way at this point and turned around to say something to us all. His words were lost in the wind...and I was just about to ask him what he said....but I experienced it for myself.

There were large lumps of grass that were above the ground about a foot. The whiffs of grass hid the deep channels of mud. Basically it was a maze and you couldn't really tell where to put your foot because the grass kinda hid it, and if you guessed wrong your foot/feet would sink into a mud/water mix! It wasn't really that pleasant...trust me I tried it!


Bekah named them the "musical lumps" and was very grateful to be behind me! My hasty actions served as a guide for the rest of the crew and they were able to maneuver them with little difficulty...sorta:)


After quite a while of hiking we finally broke tree cover...and out came the cameras!!


I HIGHLY recommend hiking!!! I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed it!

When we decided to go off-trail and get out of the trees we had no idea how long it would take! And as most things go, it took way longer then we expected. Not to mention that the thinner the air got the harder it was.


We had to be in Windsor, CO for the conference by 5 that evening, so we either had to not climb to the top and start heading back, or totally miss the conference and keep climbing. We decided on the first choice and, after taking lots of pictures, we began our descent.



The view cannot be adequately described in words, or with a camera!


Anna had a little remote thing for her camera so we were able to get quite a few group shots!




::Sisters::


Now I do have to mention that we weren't exactly the best prepared hiking crew! We kinda forgot that temperatures drop the higher you get, and without trees the wind can be kinda strong!

At one point we actually saw snow! And the little mountain stream had ice on it!
And just a little something I learned--GAP hoodies, however warm they seem, can't quite cut a good mountain breeze/wind:)


Heading back down! It about killed me not to make it to the top...but time would not allow us that luxury.


We did find a little time to stop and fill our water bottles with fresh mountain water...and it was the best water I've ever tasted!

Now this picture also has a story to go with it...but it is quite long and I'm not sure how I would put it into words without making this post way longer then it already is. So you will just have to imagine why Betsy and I had to sit and entertain ourselves for over an hour at the trailhead. I will give you a little hint; cell phones didn't work in the park and communicating with people is kinda hard without them:)



::The group--near the top::
Just one more comment--I. love. hiking!!!


"Who is like You-
majestic in holiness,
awesome in gory,
working wonders?"

"The LORD will reign for ever and ever!"


Monday, October 11, 2010

Daddy!

Happy Birthday to my amazing Daddy!!

I could not have requested a better father! If I had to write down everything I appreciated about you I would run out of room:) So here are just a couple;

You're humility and fear of God is evident to all who know you!

God knew what He was doing when He gave you 7 sons--and 2 daughters *smile*!

You sacrifice your time for others!
Like when you skipped your nap--and everything else you enjoy doing on a Sunday afternoon--just to have the car ready for me to drive the next day!

You enjoy spending time with us...and playing games with us!




I love you, Daddy

"...He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
and has no slander on his tongue...
He who does these things will never be shaken."
Psalm 15:2,3,5

Monday, October 4, 2010

Good News Club sure is fun...

...bring your friends in one by one! That what the song says, and thats what we are praying the kids will do.

I love listening to my sister teach! She is so genuine and sincere.



All of last year Esther tried to get a picture of me with a somewhat 'normal' face--while I was teaching. But it was not to be...and I don't think this year will be any better:)

But whats a story without expressions right?

We have such an incredible group of kids! I just love them! God did wonderful things in and through their lives last year. I can't wait to see what He is going to do this year!! Will you join me in praying for these kids?

We have way to much fun with "I've Got Joy"
*smile*

Children are so fun to teach. They look up at you with their big eyes full of excitement, waiting to find out what you're going to say. Their questions are sincere, coming straight from the heart. The laughter and smiles are genuine, not fake or 'just for show'. And the testimonies of how God is working in their lives, the reports of how they tried to put into practice what was taught--priceless! Not to mention when, with a glowing face, they tell you how God has answered their prayer.

Good News Club sometimes seems like a lot of work. So much preparation. So much time and effort for just one hour. But it is SO worth it! Little children are precious to the heart of my Savior, so they are precious to mine. It is worth every minute of my time, because it's what my Lord has called me to do--to share with these little ones the simplicity and sheer awesomeness of the Gospel!

They come from broken homes, hurting homes, some from pain and some from lives that just have no purpose. We have these kids' attention for an hour every week. These kids may be our next political leaders and judges. They will be the fathers/mothers to the next generation. The message that we bring to them has the power and ability to change their entire life. The changing of that child's life could mean changing the history of our nation.

Will you join me in lifting these children before the Throne of God?

A few specific requests;
  • That, as teachers, our hearts would be right before God--so that we might be pure vessels
  • That we would speak His words and not our own
  • Our club would grow, more kids would come
  • That the kids would not only be challenged, but that they would be changed--forever!