Titus 2 Tuesday!

What have you learned from a woman this week (or ever)?

Whenever I write my "Titus 2", I think for a long time and ponder my story with this person.

What can I say about AnneMarie?

She's amazing.

She's a sweetheart.

Our journies have had paths in common and I'm glad they crossed. I am so blessed to know this woman, I can't even really describe.

I met AnneMarie when we worked together several years ago - can't believe it's been several!

At first, I wasn't too sure about her. :) It took me awhile, and slowly but surely, we grew closer. We had some great times working together, but staying there was not in God's plan for either of us! We also had some challenging times... like the time we were in lock down for 3 hours!!! If I had to pick anyone to go through that situation with, I'd pick her. :)

This wasn't the day of the lock down... lol

The one thing that I've always loved about AnneMarie was her attitude of gratitude. She always showed such joy... even though I know that she wasn't feeling it on the inside. I wouldn't have guessed it then, but I know now.

AnneMarie recently shared her testimony with her church. In it, she stated that one verse that got her through was Jeremiah 29:11. While I like this verse, one other verse that reminds me of AnneMarie is Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, and who have been called according to his purpose."

AnneMarie has definitely been called... and she definitely loves Him... and all things are working for her good! Although I was honored that I had witnessed to her; what AnneMarie doesn't know is that her testimony recharged me and also gave me a sense of hope.

I always look up to people with great faith and those who show the light of Jesus. I never thought that I was an encouragement and witness to others.


You can listen to AnneMarie's testimony HERE!!! Scroll down and click the mp3 link for March 22. :)

One thing I've learned - lately - from her is that you never know who you're planting a seed in. I listen to K-Love radio at my desk all the time... always have. I always like when people ask what I'm listening to... gives me a chance to share. Maybe God will open the same opportunities for you to share your story.

My Life. In Pictures

Amber over at Everything Except the Grill is hosting a photo challenge. I love it! I'm such a shutterbug anyway. The challenge is photograph something each day and share the details of your life... in pictures. Today's challenge: Something New.



I picked something that's relevant to my life right now. Since I'm leaving the country in a few days, I chose this. The luggage is semi-new (I got it for Christmas) and everything inside it is new; travel size bottles, razors, swim suit, clothes - including my Easter skirt on top.

Tomorrow's challenge: Something on your table... Hmm.

Not me!

Here we are, another Not Me! Monday! This blog was created by MckMama. Her son Stellan is still in the hospital and they definitely need your prayers. Please check her blog for updates!!!!


In the last week I did NOT vote for Danny Gokey on American Idol... 5 times. Why on earth would I do that?!

I did NOT buy a bunch of clothes for Haiti and justify it by saying "I NEVER buy clothes!" I also did NOT accomplish anything on my to-do list... and it keeps growing... this includes staying up way too late to NOT finish laundry!

I NEVER get annoyed when I see how people raise their children. I would NEVER! Some kids are in for a rude awakening when they join my class. :) Miss Leslie doesn't play nice when it comes to skimping out on manners!

I haven't NOT called any of my family to talk to them before I leave. I wonder if it would be bad to keep NOT doing that?

Happy Monday and remeber to keep praying for Stellan!

Another award!

I just received the Kreative blogger award from Meg. She's the one that got me into this blog world. I love her layout and her ideas. Go show her blog some love!

The rules are:
1. Post the award on your blog, and link to the person who gave you the award.
2. List seven things you love.
3. List seven blogs you love.
4. E-mail or comment on those blogs to let the people know you've given them the award.

My 7 Loves (in no particular order):

1. My family & friends - I don't know what I'd do without them!
2. Rain - So peaceful
3. Baseball - One of the best past times. What beats a summer day, watching ball, eating hot dogs?!
4. Pictures - Looking at and taking
5. Kids
6. Pedicures - I'm weird about feet, but I love when mine are all soft!
7. Traveling - Nothing beats a new adventure around the corner or a day trip!


7 blogs I love:

Soaked to my Soul

Just Tabitha

INfertile Myrtle

Take Me the Way I Am

According to Ashley

JAM Adventures

Pampering Beki

Six Words

Describe your life in six words. Go to Show My Face to join!!

One week: shopping, packing, going crazy

or

Weathermen have no idea what's happening!

One Week

I can't believe it's here.

Tonight was our fundraiser dinner... we raised approximately $1,100. Awesome!!

I can't believe one week from today we'll be flying to here:

Haiti's beach

and living here for a week:

Main House @ the Hands and Feet Project

and hanging out with these kids:

Don't they look precious?!

Keep praying for us!! It's much appreciated. :)

God bless!

Titus 2 Tuesday

What have you learned from a woman this week (or ever)?

I thought since last week I shared about my mom, that this week I'd share about my stepmom. My stepmom used to be this annoying woman who (I thought) had the goal of letting me never see my dad again. In the time I've been blogging, I've shared a lot about my relationship with my mom and my dad, mostly the downs, because they've definitely shaped my journey and who I've become.

My stepmom is no different. There were many times when they (being my dad and her) would have her nephews for the weekend... instead of me and my brother. When my brother lived with them, he was constantly complaining about her. He still does and some days I can't blame him. In the last couple years as my relationship has progressed with my dad, so has my relationship with my stepmom. There are a lot of things I've come to learn about her.

Last week I told you all about my mom and my "mommy wishlist." Let me preface this next sentence with: this is very hard for me to say. I've been churning it over in my brain for awhile and it doesn't get easier the more times I say it. My stepmom, in all honesty, is my mommy wishlist.

When I'm on the phone with her, she doesn't hang up the phone until she says "I love you." She is.. how do I say.. a lot more loving than I am used to. At first it was scary for me, but I've managed... and I enjoy it.

My stepmom, me, and my sister

I'm Waiting

For the last couple of weeks I've been pondering the movie Fireproof. Some of my single friends have currently watched the movie, and have said they didn't like it for different reasons. As a single person you need to watch the movie for the messages... not constantly thinking, "Where's my partner?" etc., etc.

One thing that struck me was the song "I'm Waiting" by John Waller... check out the lyrics and see if this hits the nail on the head.


I'm waiting
I'm waiting on you, Lord
and I am hopeful
I'm waiting on you, Lord
though it is painful
but patiently I will wait

I will move ahead bold and confident
taking every step in obedience
while I'm waiting
I will serve you
while I'm waiting
I will worship
while I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'm running the race
even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on you, Lord
and I am peaceful
I'm waiting on you, Lord
though it's not easy
but faithfully I will wait

I will move ahead bold and confident
taking every step in obedience
while I'm waiting
I will serve you
while I'm waiting
I will worship
while I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'm running the race
even while I wait

I will move ahead bold and confident
taking every step in obedience
while I'm waiting
I will serve you
while I'm waiting
I will worship
while I'm waiting
I will not faint

I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on you, Lord...



This is my prayer. That I can serve, worship, and patiently wait no matter how hard it is. It's been quite some time since I've "searched" for a guy. I'm a member of a Christian dating site - and rarely log in. Hmm... is he right around the corner? I don't know, but I'm going to keep living my life until he shows up! By the way - this is an excellent movie; married or single! :)

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog was created by MckMama. Her son Stellan is in the hospital and they definitely need your prayers. Please check her blog for updates!!!!


In the last week I did NOT get hooked on Dancing With the Stars... Nope, that would just be another reality tv show for me to watch. I also did NOT feel like I did not nothing but eat. Nope, my pants aren't feeling tighter at all... :)

I did NOT make my final payment for Haiti. 11 days... eek!!! I was NOT so emotional that I cried all the way to work... and again later that night. I would NEVER cry for no reason.

One of my church kids did NOT fall and begin bleeding, while she was in my care. I also did NOT avoid my mother's text message this afternoon. Nope I would NEVER. I am NOT super excited because my car is almost paid off. That would NOT make me happy at ALL!


Happy Monday, everyone! Remember to keep praying for Stellan!

Six Word Saturday!

It's time for Six Word Saturday!! Visit Show My Face to get started! :)

Ugh... there's so much to do!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Picture of the week

As this week winds down - sort of. :)

Wishing everyone well on their March Madness brackets.. and maybe even some relaxation.

Me and Crystal

AI recap

Ok. I've been avoiding blogging about American Idol, but this week, I just have to!! For the most part I like them all for different reasons, but here are my thoughts on the top 11.


Danny - I love Danny even more after watching him sing "Jesus Take The Wheel." He gave me goosebumps! I've always loved the song, but never have gotten goosebumps before. (More blogging about Danny coming soon).

Scott - I like Scott, but sadly I don't think he'll last a long time. He's not exceeding like the others, which makes me sad.

Michael - I love this country boy!! He did a good job with Garth last night!

Adam - Ok. Where do I start? I dislike him... a lot. Before last night I was on the fence about him, but 1) He messed with Johnny Cash, and 2) He was bad at it!!!!

Lil - I like her. Last night you could tell that she was out of her element, but she did good singing Independence Day.

Kris - I love, love, love him!! He did awesome singing Garth too.

Anoop - I'm so glad Anoop redeemed himself from last week!

Alexis - I'm kind of the fence about her too. I like her singing, but I'm mildly annoyed that the judges constantly want her to be 'dirty'. No variety?

Megan Joy - She changes her name every week... seriously. Not sure on her.... her voice is... different; sometimes that's a bad thing.

Matt - Hmm... kind of on the fence about him too. I think he's good, but there's something about him..... He did do a good job singing a Carrie Underwood song - that was surprising!

Allison - I'm not sure about her; I think her voice is weird... :)


So who will be booted tonight? I hope it's Adam!!! :) We'll find out in an hour (central time).

Titus 2 Tuesday

What have you learned from a woman this week (or ever)?

This week I'm going to share a bit about my mom. My mom has lived her life in Nebraska, raising kids - me and my three brothers. For the most part my mom and I get along. For the remainder of the time, I'm either annoyed at her, she's annoyed at me, or something's happening. Since I was 5 years old, it's always been my mom, my brother, and me. When all these other people started entering our lives, it got... well... weird.

The thing I love about my mom is that she's absolutely hilarious. When I look at my parents, I can definitely see where I get my sense of humor. She's a strong woman who's dealt with a lot in her life. She tries to be the rock, when I really know that she has to have times of break down. There has been one time in my life when I was all consumed emotional and my mom was there to catch me.

To this day, I don't ever recall my mom telling me she's proud of me or that I look beautiful. She always finds something to critique me on - whether it's that my hair is curly (in her eyes, this is not 'fixing' it), or whether it's that I didn't wear enough makeup. Is it the job of a mom to critique?

My mommy wishlist: Some days I wish my mom understood me. I wish she wasn't jealous of me having a life, that she never did. I wish she would tell me that she loved me - without me having to say it first.

But.

At the end of the day, she's my mom and I love her.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Here goes my first attempt.

In the last week I did NOT get my last shot for the Haiti trip and I also did NOT get my prescription filled for malaria pills. I couldn't figure out why they had to order them. Doesn't everyone ask for those? :)

I was also NOT so busy that I couldn't keep my schedule straight. Nope, that would never happen to me. I also did NOT have time to watch stupid reality tv. Nope, I would NEVER. Speaking of tv, I do NOT love watching 90210 and am NOT a month behind.... it's ok it's not new until March 31.

I did NOT have 9 girls between the ages of 3 and 8 at my house. I did NOT keep them up way past their bedtime and let them eat everything they wanted. I would NEVER do that. This past weekend is NOT a total blur and it did NOT end like this:




What did you NOT do this week?

It's Amazing...

• How much bigger my room looks when it's clean.
• How you can see a friend once or twice a year and always pick up where you left off.
• How much you can miss someone whenever you hear about them.
• How much it hurts when a "friend" doesn't respond.
• How something you used to have/do all the time, you no longer miss.
• How the more things change, the more they stay the same.
• How fast time goes when you don't want it to, and goes slow when you wish it hurry up.
• How you can be constantly 'labeled' like you're no more than that.

It's been a crazy week and it's only going to get worse before the weekend is over. Last night I had dinner with a friend from high school, which was great! Tonight I had church and ended up bailing on my cousin - I felt horrible, but I am exhausted! Tomorrow night we have a sleepover for our missionettes girls (at our house). Saturday we're working Women of Faith for K-Love and then going to dinner with my friend Crystal. Sunday we have church and a K-Love concert (Kutless). Whew!!! Happy weekend everyone. :)

Welcome to Tuesday!

What have you learned from a woman this week (or ever)?

It has taken me awhile to decide who to write about today. I've changed my mind so many times. This week I'm writing about my friend Crystal. Crystal and I met when I worked at a college in Lincoln, and she was a student. I immediately loved her. She has such a sweet heart, was funny, and the most independent woman I knew.

A little bit of Crystal's story: Crystal was a normal teenager with goals and dreams. She ran track and was a cheerleader. Shortly after graduating from high school, she was involved in a car accident that left her completely paralyzed from the waist down. She relies on her wheelchair for full daily mobility, but she doesn't let that stop her. She has an amazing faith, a wonderful personality, and the willingness to never give up.

We got closer when Crystal introduced me to Ms. Wheelchair Nebraska. I planned the graduation for our school and Crystal thought they might benefit from me helping with their pageant. They instantly welcomed me into the group as one of their board members. By 'they' I mean Crystal and her brother, which was the entire group at that time.

I was a member of this group for 5 years before I moved to Kansas. At one point I had lost my job and almost had to move back in with my parents. Crystal was determined not to let that happen and offered me a place to stay with her. I lived with her for a year before I moved on. We've always been close - sharing faith, ups, and downs. One of my absolute favorite moments with Crystal. If you've seen the Friends episode when Phoebe is trying to turn off the smoke detector....

Well, one night, the smoke detector was beeping CONSTANTLY!!! Crystal's house had very high ceilings, which made things even more interesting. Here I am, standing at 5' even... standing on the arm of the couch, trying to grab the stupid thing. Crystal is sitting in her chair staring at me and then has this brilliant idea and says "OH! Try my gripper!" I am literally BEATING the smoke detector with this thing. The top pops off and then we see.... it's hooked into the ceiling. OH MY GOSH!!!!! During this whole ordeal I had to state that it was our Friends moment of the day. We finally left it and her brother-in-law came to fix it. :)

Since I moved to Kansas, we've remained in touch, always picking up where we left off. I haven't seen her since last Memorial Day Weekend. We rarely talk on the phone, but sometimes email. Crystal will be in Topeka on Saturday judging the Ms. Wheelchair Kansas pageant... so we're hanging out! Am so excited! :) Here are some pics:

me and Crystal at Ms. Wheelchair Nebraska, 2007 pageant

Crystal and I last Memorial Day Weekend

March currents

I took this idea from Meg, as I do everything. :)


current book:
The next book I want to read is "When God Writes Your Love Story"

current music:
Chris Tomlin - Hello, Love

current shame-inducing guilty pleasure:
Watching 4 hours of the Bachelor finale

current fetish:
Reality tv

current drink:
sweet tea

current songs:
Sing, Sing, Sing - Chris Tomlin

current movie:
Fireproof!

current wish-list:
People to buy tickets for our fundraiser dinner

current needs:
a part time job

current triumph(s):
Finding old friends (and teachers) on facebook!

current annoyance:
lack of funds

current indulgence:
cookie dough

current happiness:
Seeing Melissa dance on Dancing with the stars :)

current outfit:
jammies :)

current excitement:
Seeing friends this week!

current quote or song lyric:
Give me a revelation
Show me what to do
Cause I've been trying to find my way
I haven't got a clue
Tell me should I stay here
or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I've got nothing without you

current mood:
fantastic!

Picture of the Week

Normally I do pictures of the week on Fridays, but last night a friend was in town and we went to dinner at McCormick & Schmick's on the Plaza. So, for my picture of the week... our dessert. It was soooooooo yum! :)

Not a very good pic... but to give you an idea: It's a "lunch bag" made out of Belgian dark chocolate, filled with white chocolate mousse and berries. Yum yum!

Six Word Saturday

I found this blog topic at Show My Face. Go there to join the fun. :)

Being lazy rocks my socks off!

I Wish

At the end of the day, truly I wish...

• The DVR wouldn't stop recording 3 minutes before the show ends.
• Laundry would do itself...
• ...same for the dishes
• I didn't worry so much.
• I would pray more...
• ...and spend more time in God's Word.
• That I could move all my friends to one place.
  
• That I had more local friends.
• That the man of my dreams wasn't faceless.
• I wasn't so competitive.
• I was more giving.
• I was more motivated
• I wouldn't have eaten so much at dinner.
  

... To be continued...

Reality

Dear TV Writers,

I hate you in all your reality t.v. glory. You suck me in night after night, when I should be doing something productive. You make me like people I couldn't pick out in a line up. You make me peeved at men who pick women, then change their minds....

You force me to listen to people who can't sing, but I watch them anyway. Don't even get me started on the adults forced to live in a house all summer long while we watch them create "allies" and make out with every other person in the house.

Darn you, reality tv... darn you.

Titus 2 Tuesday - Friend Therapy

For today's Titus 2 Tuesday, I've chosen a woman who has become one of my best friends. I met Meg in college. She worked in career services and I was a student working in the library. We started hanging out when work was quiet and we were working late... I don't even really know how. We both worked at the school for several years before life took us in different directions.

That was over 8 years ago.

Wow. It doesn't even seem real!

In the last couple years, Meg and I have grown a lot closer. I left Nebraska and now live in Kansas. Despite the people who never keep in touch, Meg and I chat online at least once a day, whether we're both ready for bed or not! :)

The things I love about her is that she's real. She will always tell you what she feels, not sugar coating anything. She has a great faith that's come to the surface and she's always willing to share her experiences. Meg is a wonderful listener and will bend over backwards for those that she loves.We've been through some good times, some lazy days, and we've been there for each other during the losses in our lives.

Meg got me started in the whole blogging world. I'm really excited about it! She's also been a bad influence and got me watching way more shows than I can handle! :) Jump over to her blog and give her some love... one of my best friends ever!

Love ya, Meg!

Tag.. you're it!

The rules: open the 6th picture folder on your computer, open the 6th photo and blog it. Write something about it. Then tag 6 more people to do the same.

Here goes:


This is the Lyon County Courthouse in Emporia, Kansas. I thought the building was kind of cool looking.

I'm tagging:
Lora @ Take Me The Way I Am
Maime @ Equilibrium
Nicole @ What A Trip!
KC Mom
Linda @ 2nd Cup of Coffee
Tabitha @ Just Tabitha

The Fake Out

I've been going through my other blogs.. This one's posted from May 6, 2008.


Last weekend me and the girls are at the coffee house listening to CJ's brother-in-law sing. At one point, he says, "This is Kevin... he's single for all you ladies that are looking." After the show, we're all standing around talking, when we notice that Kevin has a ring on his ring finger. He said it was his fake out ring.

Wow. I so need one of those! Have you ever noticed that when there's even a chance that you might be taken, the guys flock to you and appear out of no where? Hmmm...

How often do we use the "fake out"? Whether it's the marrieds not wearing a ring or the singles wearing them... When you think of it, really, what's the purpose of the fake out? You bet your bottom, when I get married I'm gonna have a big ole fat rock that blings and shouts "HEY, I'M MARRIED!!!" I understand some people don't because of their jobs or whatever... my parents haven't worn wedding rings for 15 years. I know it's just a symbol, but to me it's an outward symbol of your love and the promise that you've made to this other person. I posted the following blog a long time ago, but felt it made sense here too...

I can't believe how something as sacred as marriage, has turned into this "thing" that people just "do"... like they woke up one morning and just decided they were going to get married.

Having been single, literally forever, I've often pondered how wonderful it will be to stand next to the man God has for me, celebrating the many milestones of life. Four years ago my family celebrated the 50th wedding anniversary of my grandparents. This day was so amazing! My family together, leaving behind all disagreements, all arguments... for these two people, who in a span of 50 years, had 14 children, countless grandchildren, and of course, many trials and tribulations that come with it. I look at them sometimes and wonder what they talk about, but then realize that God has put them here for a reason, together, in this moment.

Then you see the couple who has been married for 20 years, three kids, and the wife has recently been informed that her husband has been having an affair for the last year. Being single, it's hard to trust that God will bring us someone that we're compatible with. It's even harder trusting God that we can actually trust this person; for the rest of our lives.

After all the thinking about marriage and weddings, I got to thinking about my relationship with God. Marriage vows hardly seem worth anything to some people anymore, but sometimes that's how I feel about my relationship with Him. I've made these vows... these wonderful vows, to serve, to praise, to worship Him... but am I doing that? How am I holding to my end of the vows? God is always faithful. He will never break His vows - always there to protect us, to guide us. He never said it would be easy, He said we would never be alone. Which is true, but we need to keep our end of the vows too. Before I can truly long for the one person that God has planned for me, I need to concentrate on keeping my vows to Him and truly have that relationship with Him... not just a "thing" that I decided to "do" one day just because...

You can't fake out God's love or what He has in store.

Moments

There's a quote that says, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away." I love this quote. I live my laugh by moments and measure time by events. Right now time is whipping by until I leave for Haiti on April 3. Between now and then I have three K-Love events, a missionettes sleepover (at our house), a fundraiser dinner, and "the random group" is going to the Jazz Museum & the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

April brings our trip, Easter, the David Cook concert (which of course I'm SO looking forward to), and.. the start of baseball season!! :) I'll also be spending the last weekend of April in Nebraska for one of my cousins confirmation.

February has been good in retrospect. I've had a couple of K-Love events, a concert (that we actually paid to attend - lol), and some other events. I'm definitely looking forward to spring, because today I'm mildly annoyed that we were to go to Wichita and it felt the need to snow 4 inches. Bah! :)

Oh well - time to make snow angels! Have a good Saturday.

Picture of the week

I love taking pictures of old buildings, especially churches. This is one in Emporia, Kansas. One of these I'm going to get a cute picture of the church I see every day on my way to work. It's a cute little country church, that's just very quaint.

Save the date

I hate anniversaries. Especially anniversaries of losing someone. Whether it be a boy who broke your heart or your favorite grandma. This week marks the one year of my grandma's passing. I hadn't thought of it much in awhile. I was supposed to work a K-Love event this weekend and it dawned on me... I was supposed to work the same event last year, but ended up not. As soon as I made this realization, I became ho hum. Not in a depressed sort of way, but in a... "I miss her" sort of way.

How long does it take for grieving to end? In the last couple of years I've wondered how to go through the motions to get to the end. Not sure that ever happens, but I'll manage. I always do.

Who's glad it's Friday?! :)

My Birthday Calculator

Meg did this one today, so I thought I'd try it out. You can do yours here.

Your date of conception was on or about 23 February 1980 which was a Saturday.

You were born on a Saturday
under the astrological sign Scorpio.
Your Life path number is 8.

Your fortune cookie reads:
If you continually give, you will continually have.

The golden number for 1980 is 5.
The epact number for 1980 is 13.
The year 1980 was a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/16/1980 and ending 2/4/1981.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Monkey.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Snake; your plant is Thistle.

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 6 April 1980.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 6 April 1980.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 20 February 1980.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 25 May 1980.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 1 June 1980.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Thursday, 11 September 1980.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Tuesday, 1 April 1980.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 19 February 1980.

You are 28 years old.
You are 339 months old.
You are 1,476 weeks old.
You are 10,329 days old.
You are 247,916 hours old.
You are 14,874,981 minutes old.
You are 892,498,869 seconds old.

Your lucky day is Tuesday.
Your lucky number is 9 & 11.
Your ruling planet(s) is Mars & Pluto.
Your lucky dates are 1st, 10th, 19th, 28th.
Your opposition sign is Taurus.
Your opposition number(s) is 6.

Today is one of your lucky days!

There are 263 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 29 candles.

Your birth tree is

Chestnut Tree, the Honesty

Of unusual beauty, does not want to impress, well-developed sense of justice, vivacious, interested, a born diplomat, but irritable and sensitive in company, often due to a lack of self-confidence, acts sometimes superior, feels not understood, loves only once, has difficulties in finding a partner.

Titus 2 Tuesday!

I've seen a couple of people do this post, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. See the original post HERE!

What have learned from another woman this week? (or ever)

For my first Titus 2 Tuesday post, it was hard for me to think of someone. There are so many women in my life that have influenced me one way or another. I'm going to share a bit about my friend, CJ.

I moved in with CJ when I moved to Kansas. We met online and instantly became friends. One of the things that people don't understand is that she's the same age as my mom! She has been a great influence on my life because she's always there when I need her. Whether it's having a crisis at work or needing a shoulder to cry on - gosh knows she's seen me cry a time or two!

I assist her with a lot of stuff in children's ministries -- she's the Children's Ministries Director at our church. She was there when I was baptized for the second time... she was there to drive me to Nebraska when my great grandma passed away... and she's been there through the stupid boys...

She is "miss fix it." If we have a friend in need, she always wants to run and fix things. A year or so ago, one of our friends had surgery. We went to Iowa (three hour drive) two weekends in a row to visit her in the hospital and to clean her house, etc. It's one of the things I love about her, but I'm also trying to teach her that she can't fix it all.

CJ and I met on a singles dating site (which adds more humor to our friendship). We met in the chat room; she had been there for a few months before I joined. I don't even remember how the conversations got started. Before I knew it, I was going to San Antonio with her to meet more internet people. How crazy!! :) Here we are four years later and getting ready to embarq on so many new adventures. Here are some pics. :-)

On vacation in Colorado

The Oz Museum in Wamego, KS

Fresh Brewed Monday

I watched this video of Nicole Johnson's called "Just a Touch of Faith." She talks about her move from Nashville to California. She had a piece of stained glass in the moving truck. At the end of the trip, it was on the bottom of the truck, in pieces. A year later one of her friends gave her a Christmas present that was stained glass... reassembled from the broken piece.

One of my favorite verses is Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." The last couple weeks, we've been trying to teach our church kids about faith, and how things that you can't see help make things work (i.e. electronics, etc).

On K-Love they have these little radio spots with different artists. The one with Michael W. Smith got my attention the other day. It was something to the affect of "No matter who you are or where you've been, everyone can come to the cross." I love that! It doesn't matter your circumstance, God can take it.

10 reasons

With what I do in ministry and if you see me in public, I make it pretty well known that I definitely want to have kids. So here are my top 10 reasons - in no particular order.

1. Their smiles and laughter
2. Baby powder smells
3. Their stories as they get older - they're always so matter of fact!
4. Hugs & kisses
5. Cute little clothes
6. When they hold your finger with all their might
7. Playing with them on the playground
8. An excuse to watch cartoons! :)
9. Having them fall asleep on you.
10. Cuddling when they're sick.

Me & Tyler at VBS

Friends & Haiti update

I love lazy Saturdays. This week I've been fighting a cold, so today I stayed in bed and watched the entire first season of Friends. I love it!! I laugh every single time, no matter how many times I see an episode. As I sit here at 12:30 am, I'm attempting to finish up some church announcements for tomorrow. I've been reading some stories about the awesomeness of God today. He never ceases to amaze me in his faithfulness.

I was reading the blog of the Hands and Feet Project, the orphanage that we'll be working at in Haiti. They just got a new little girl, 3 years old, whose mother gave her up because all 9 of her siblings have died from malnutrition or disease. I can't wait to meet these precious little kids in a little over a month. I can't believe how fast it's coming up... 39 days. Wow. We haven't gotten our passports yet. Probably some time this week I'm thinking. I have an appointment on Friday to get my last shot, then I have my prescription filled for pills. It's all coming together... including raising support. One of the hardest things I've had to do is ask for this money. I remember at the very beginning praying to God that people would be generous, that He would open their hearts, and help people understand.

I'm glad and proud to say that all of my support has been raised, including my "extra spending" money. On March 27th, we're having a fundraiser dinner. The week before we leave. A tad late, BUT I'm hoping that maybe we can at least replenish what we had to spend out of our own pockets. Which isn't the way to really think about it, but God is faithful. If we're meant to, we will. If not, then so be it; we've helped a good cause.

Not sure what these updates will bring in the next month; we'll have to see. I ask that you continue to pray for me and the other 8 people in our group. I've gotten a lot of people saying they were sorry they couldn't contribute monetarily. I'm not sorry because God has taken care of the money. God will continue to take care of our travels and our safety, but please continue to pray as we enter this unstable country.

God bless - may you have a wonderful time of worship tomorrow!

Picture of the week

Being an ambassador for K-Love, I've had some opportunities to meet some bands. The ones I've met are wonderful and so down to earth! I couldn't decide which pic to choose this week.. so I picked two! Hey, it's my blog, I can do what I want! :)

Me and Michael from Above the Golden State

Me and CJ with Building 429

Award

Meg at The Buzz gave me the "Love ya" award today, my first award here in blog-world. Meg is one the greatest friends I've come to know. I love reading her randomness, yet she sneaks in her thoughtfulness and tender heart.


Here are the rules: “These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

1. Lora at Take Me The Way I Am

2. Megan at INfertile Myrtle

3. Angie at Bring the Rain

4. Cathy at Playing with Photography

5. Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee

6. Adrienne at Our Journey of Love

7. Mama Kat at Mama's Losin It

8. Yo at The Adventures of an East Coast Chick Turned Midwest Mom

100!

Wow, this is my 100th post. I thought for my 100th that I wanted to post something like my favorite things - not necessarily materialistic. It had to be something big!! I worked on it and worked on it, seemed to get no where. However, tonight at Youth, Dr. Sondra (our Pastor's wife) preached. Needless to say, I got a little something from it, and it kind of tugged at my heart strings.

Bear with me here as you do this along with me. Get a piece of paper, and on one side trace your hand. Write your name in the 'palm,' and along the fingers write 5 things that you are good at and/or that you like about yourself.

Now, what she had us do was on the other side of the paper, trace both hands. Then we went around the room and OTHER people had to write good things about us. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." God has planned our purpose - in ADVANCE! Just like Moses, God has called us by name and given us a mission, a purpose. Moses' response was "Who am I?"

Who are we? We are God's ART. His creation to fulfill His plan. God says, "What is that in your hand?" Meaning God has given us the tools and equipment we need. We just need to trust Him and His perfect will. What's in our hand? The talents and gifts that God has given us. It's not always easy to recognize these gifts because maybe they come so easily that we don't look at them as gifts. Or maybe we don't like admitting to ourselves that we can be good at something.

It's hard to compliment yourself. It might be even harder to receive compliments given by others. All day we are spit on verbally, possibly verbally abused by those who put us down. Even if we are given a compliment, we won't remember it, because all the bad outweighs the good. Have you been told that you're loved today? That you're powerful? Never doubt your worth, because the Almighty God, who has a plan and a purpose, LOVES you.

And if you haven't been given any other compliments today...

You look beautiful. :)

Fresh Brewed Monday

This one gets me every time. Whether you've known someone or it's you... be prepared to cry. It's "Stepping Into the Ring" by Nicole Johnson.

Visit her website HERE! I love it!

Love Songs

I'm not going to lie. I'm a pretty big sap. I love the way things (i.e. photography and music) tells a love story. Whether it's the love between a person and God, between a father and a daughter, or a man and a woman. Feelings get to me. On this evening of Valentine's Day... when all the couples are out having dinner, etc., I'm in watching movies... and creating a playlist of my favorite love songs of all time. A bit of why I picked a couple of the songs:

Feels Like Home - On the "How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days"... the more I listen to it, the more I "get" it. It describes how I hope to feel one day. :)

Cinderella - A beautiful story between a father and a daughter. Having to have worked at a relationship with my father for the last 28 years, this song gets me every time. I don't regret how God planned things because it has helped me to grow. I am glad things happened the way they did, and the reason my dad and I grew closer. It's a journey that I'm glad to be given the opportunity to take...

Enjoy! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Today has been less than productive, since I woke up at 10:30. :) I blogged the other day about showing the love. Our plans fell through when something came up. The day turned out to be just another Saturday with errands and cleaning.

How did you all show some love today? I did call my mom and siblings, talked to some friends... wishing them all a happy valentine's. Weird thing about this valentine's day -- I received a delivery of flowers yesterday at work. With a card, not signed. No name, no nothing. Still trying to solve the mystery of the flowers. lol I love them, they're beautiful, but I'm just annoyed that no one has fessed up!!! :)

I wish you all a great evening and a wonderful time of worship tomorrow!

Picture of the week

Last Sunday I became an "official" member of my church. I was baptized there a year ago, I'm very active in serving, so I thought.. why not? :)

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend (3 days for some of us)!!

Soundtrack of my life

I stole this idea from Meg. Its the "Soundtrack to you Life"!
How to Play:

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question below, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool …

Here are mine:

Opening Credits:
Feels Like Home

First Day At School:
Lullaby - Josh Groban

Falling In Love:
You Are Beautiful My Sweet Sweet Song - Third Day

Breaking Up:
Somebody - Reba

Prom:
I Cross My Heart - George Strait

Mental Breakdown:
Who Says You Can't Go Home - Sugarland & Bon Jovi

Flashbacks:
The Best Day - George Strait

Getting Back Together:
Would You Go With Me - Josh Turner

Wedding Scene:
You Found Me - The Fray

Final Battle:
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) - Chris Tomlin

Death Scene:
Adore You - Andy Chrisman

Funeral Song:
Good People - Audio Adrenaline

End Credits:
More - Matthew West

Finale:
Unforgettable - Nat & Natalie Cole

Showing the LOVE

Yesterday on K-Love, I heard one of their radio spots talking about Valentine's Day -- in a more traditional sense of the word. It's more about showing love for others, not just goo-goo, mushy gushy stuff to your significant other. The commercialized version of the holiday forces people to others that they love them. Why do we have to have a specific day for that? Can we not do it all the time?

This weekend CJ and I are going to be showing some love in a traditional sense. We've decided to trek down to Oklahoma to visit one of our Pastor friends. He's been having a rough go of it, so we're surprising him with neccessary items that he might be having trouble buying. Along with this we'll get great fellowship and visit another church... maybe actually hear a sermon! :)

What beter way to spread the love than by doing a good deed for those you care about? How will you spread the love this weekend?

Fresh Brewed Monday

"The Invisible Woman" is one of the greatest skits of Nicole's. She says what every woman is thinking... and puts it in God's perspective.

Fundraising Continued...

CJ made these cute candy arrangements that we sold this morning in church. I'm posting pics and prices... if you'd like to order one (or two!) we'd be happy to ship it in time for Valentine's Day! Can't hurt to try right? These pictures don't do them justice, they're so cute!

All proceeds go to our missions trip to Haiti in April.

Boxes - $5.00

Small dish - $3.00

Coffee Mugs - $5.00

Heart shaped candy dish - $6.00

Valentine Glasses - $5.00

Thin vases - $4.00



Goblet glasses - $5.00

Not pictured: We also have plastic cups (great for kids!) that are $3.00 and decorative flower pots that are $8.00. Like I said if you want to place an order - email me what you'd like and your address so I can ship ASAP. Thanks!

Dialog in the Dark

Today I went with some friends to experience "Dialog in the Dark." It was rather interesting and I have a few thoughts on the exhibit. Your group is taken around by a guide, who is visually impaired. You go through simulation scenes with a walking stick, experiencing "daily life" as if you're blind. My favorite scene was the market. You walk around the counter and smell fruit, soap, coffee beans, etc. We also went around a 'park', on a 'boat', and on a 'city street.' The city street scared me the most because I didn't have the wall to hang on to! I was basically in the middle of this room scared that our guide was going to leave me!

It was very scary to be walking around in the dark. First of all.. I hate the dark... and I've seen one too many scary movies that I constantly think something's going to jump out and grab me. Nothing did of course, but I hate that feeling!

I cannot imagine how it would be to have perfectly good use of all of your senses and then to suddenly lose one and have to adapt accordingly. Take my friend Crystal for instance: in high school Crystal ran track, was a cheerleader, etc. After her senior year she was in a car accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down. She uses a wheelchair for every mobility, but she gets around. She is seriously the most amazing person I have ever met in my life.

Another thing I use to compare a lot to lately is that kleenex commercial with the mom, where she's going around "touch" "touch" "touch" ... then she touches the kleenex and says "feel." It made me appreciate the feelings of seeing the world around me. There's so much I take for granted that I definitely need to thank God for!!

Have a wonderful Sunday, everyone!

Cheese!

Meg did this thing tonight and I kind of dig it. So.. here it goes. One thing that can always get me to smile, are my church kids. This is a picture of Tyler, my 6 year old boyfriend. I absolutely love him to pieces. He's so smart and always manages to capture my heart.

Is there something that always makes you smile no matter what? Write it in your blog and post a picture. :)

Randoms

I've done a couple of these on facebook... so I thought I'd post some randoms here for the world to see. :)


1. I named my youngest brother -- Dylan Travis
2. My nails are never long.
3. I hate feet
4. but love pedicures
5. I was baptized for the second time when I was 27
6. I have 3 piercings in each ear
7. I did have my cartilage pierced, but it closed
8. Would love to re-pierce it.
9. I love reese's peanut butter cups
10. I volunteer for K-Love Radio as an ambassador -- I love it!
11. I guard my siblings with my life.
12. I hate camping
13. I have visited Texas every year for the last three years and am again this year.
14. I love to blog
15. I love reading random blogs -- usually I get them from Meg
16. I can't wait to use my new purple luggage that I got for Christmas. :)
17. Last Christmas I received the best present ever from my brother & his girlfriend
18.I love sitcoms
19. I hate horror movies
20. I dislike Oprah
21. I love taking pictures
22. even when they don't turn out good
23. I have a gift of sarcasm
24. I love eating at mom & pop shop places that I can't eat at anywhere else.
25. I was born in Lincoln, Nebraska.
26. I used to want to be an English teacher.
27. I hate shopping
28. I love going to the dentist.
29. When I was in high school I worked at a Fitness Center.
30. In kindergarten I had 7 stitches in my chin.
31. I say I hated Times Square, but I would like to go back to New York and do more
32. I love chocolate almond ice cream from Braum's
33. I would love to visit Europe.
34. I can't wait to get married and have kids.
35. My favorite Christian songs are Blessed Assurance and How Great Thou Art
36. I LOVE mexican food!
37. I plan to visit all of the major league baseball fields
38. I'm a big worrier!
39. I would love to learn to play the piano
40. I often miss the kitty I had when I lived in Lincoln. :(

Confessions of a chunky monkey

I often talk about the support and encouragement that I enjoy getting from my friends and family. This journey of making life changes is hard, it's tough to kick habits. I take the constructive criticism with a grain of salt. Here is a list of things that I don't like hearing (in no particular order):

1. How much weight have you lost? -- If you can't tell, don't ask. It's like asking a woman when she's due and she's not pregnant!
2. Why aren't you losing any weight? -- Coming more often then not, from my mother.
3. I hate going to dinner and movies alone.
4. I feel like everyone's staring at me at said #3. I know they aren't, but it feels like it.
5. Have you tried.... ? I'm not looking for a quick fix, pill, or surgery for me to lose weight.


Things I don't mind hearing because I know it's a push to help me:

1. How are you doing on your water? Sometimes I'm a rockstar at the water... sometimes not so much.
2. Did you work out today? This week the answer has been no, but I think I'm going to join another gym that will allow me 24 hr access. This means that I can work out at 8 or 8:30 pm if I have to.
3. Dear Diary...... "Well... that's probably not the best decision you made..."
4. I know you can do it. -- It's glad to hear that some people have faith in me when I don't have faith in myself.

Haiti

I'm going to try and start a pattern with updates, so here it goes for this week:

Last week I got two shots. I hate shots, but all is well. :) Two down, one more to go. I lucked out
because one of the Hepatitis series' I already had... so whew! I also have my prescription for milaria (doesn't that sound exciting?), so I'll be taking those a week before we leave.

The first payments were due this past weekend, so we got those paid. We'll have one more payment of $300 or so due by the first week of March. Our plane tickets will be purchased by the end of this week. For those of you catching up -- we'll fly from KC to Miami, stay the night in Miami and very early the next morning leave for Port-Au-Prince. From there we'll fly to Jacmel and then drive up the mountain to the orphanage.

CJ and I are going to turn in all of our passport stuff this weekend, so hopefully we'll have those in 3 weeks. It's approaching fast, but there's still so much more to do. We still have to shop for all the items on our "to take" list... other than clothes and the 'normal' stuff, we have a supply list so we can make it through the beach. Of course a load of batteries is on my list. lol

Please continue praying. We still have more support to raise and April is approaching fast. Thank you so much for your continued encouragement and support.

~God Bless!~

Gorgeous weather day trip!

Today CJ and I went to the Wizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas. Let me tell you... this little town had some of the cutest historical sites!! Including a Dutch Mill & a Rifle and Bible Church. The story of the church was quite interesting - Readers Digest version: A Company from New Haven, CT came to Kansas in the 1800's and brought with them... you guessed it... Bibles and Rifles. They then established the church.

The Wizard of Oz Museum was cute and full of fun little facts. For instance: I did not know that there were MANY pairs of slippers... and in the original book, they weren't "ruby"... the producer did that during the creating of the movie so that they would stand out against the yellow brick road. Cool, huh?

I also learned that there are plush Wizard of Oz dolls, that came from a store (oh, the name is escaping me right now) that was located in the World Trade Center. The owner of the museum was asked if he wanted them on one of his visits to his father, who worked on the 31st floor of the North Tower. When 9/11 happened he wasn't sure if the dolls had been shipped. He found out 3 days later when the dolls arrived...

Was a good day trip, got to see some cool buildings and also drove around Topeka... I'd never actually BEEN to Topeka. LOL

Toddlers & Tiaras

Lately on the news and tv it seems the topic is young girls (and their mothers) and beauty pageants. Really? I don't get this.

I think of JonBenet Ramsey... this little girl was precious! Yet forced into this world of pageants so her mother could live vicariously through her. Seeing previews of this "toddlers and tiaras" show on TLC quite frankly angers me. The things they do to their children -- spray on tans, fake teeth, all for what? A trophy? Popularity?

What happens to these kids when they get older? They're scarred for life and have issues and drama beyond belief! Ugh!!! So annoying and I want to know how these mothers live with themselves.

Haiti Update

I thought I'd also post another Haiti update. Support letters went out a couple weeks ago, and support is slowly but surely coming in. God is so faithful and He keeps showing me over and over.

Our first payment deadline is the end of this week. It's kind of nerve-racking, but once again God is trying to teach me to not be anxious, but pray about everything, always giving thanks. I am so thankful and grateful to those who have contributed to the endeavor of our group. Not just the people I know, but the people I don't - who have contributed to the others in our group, donated supplies that we'll be taking with us.

I'm also thankful for the prayers of support and words of encouragement. Sometimes all it takes is one bad apple and I get scared and feeling like, "Why on earth am I doing this?" I know why I'm doing it. I know why we're all doing it. I feel led... I know we all do. Keep praying all, they're much needed as deadlines approach.

CJ and I are going to turn in our passport applications on Saturday. So hopefully we'll have those in a couple weeks. In the next couple weeks I'll also be beginning the process of getting shots... ugh, shots. Lots of shots. Ewww! *Pray for that too! lol*

Love you all. God Bless!

Weekly Reflection and goals

I'm slacking just a little bit. :)

This week is off to a good start. I worked out with Bob (from Biggest Loser) and drank TONS of water. Last week was good too... I didn't get to Curves as much as I wanted, but I did work out 4 times, 5 if you count twirling kids around in church (right, Christi? :)).

It's been a good journey and I'm looking forward to the changes. I'm getting better at the whole water thing, which is definitely a big one for me. Another big challenge is not eating past 7, or 8, whatever the rule is....

Anyone have any encouragement or challenges they'd like to share? Have an awesome week!

I Can Only Imagine....

So last night I'm watching Idol.... yes, one of my guilty pleasures and this season they've had a touching story from each city. Last night's was a guy who took care of his mother because she was ill. This guy sacrificed a lot of stuff to care for her and she really wanted him to make it to Hollywood.

SO! He tries out and the judges end up liking him... and send him on to Hollywood. (You know the part where Randy says "WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD, BABY!")... anyway, I digress.

During their filming of this guy showing his mother that he got a golden ticket, they were playing none other than Mercy Me's song "I Can Only Imagine." Now, as a Christian who loves her tv, I get really excited when they start playing Christian music, especially when they call their show "American Idol" and that's not biblical -- if you want to get technical. So go FOX for putting some Christian tunes out there!

On the same note, the other day I was watching a movie and on THAT show they were playing Building429 as this girl was driving down the highway. Whew! Let's get some Christian music in Hollywood why don't we! I think it's great and really says a lot... you don't HAVE to have gross movies (gore, f-bombs all over the place, etc) to have a good movie.

Speaking of movies... who's ready for dinner and a movie on Saturday? ME! :)

Fresh Brewed Tuesday

When I would go to Women of Faith every year, my favorite quickly became Nicole Johnson. She's a dramatist who gets you so far into her stories that you will laugh, cry, and gosh knows what else within seconds!

I'm going to try out Fresh Brewed Tuesdays and post little videos of Nicole's. Check out her website. I love it!

Reflections & Goals

Last week was ok. Today I actually drank my one thing of water (yay). The whole eating out thing didn't go well, but I think I was ok on cutting down on carbs. Did I mention that my doctor says I eat too many? Hmm. :)

I only worked out once - bah! Trying for curves 3 times this week, since we're off on Monday. Try and try again. I'm getting better and not using the elevator... it's just like a habit that you're trying to break... shutting tha automatic pilot off.

Anyway - goals for the week: More water, more workouts, Less carbs.... Ahh... welcome back to dear diary moments. ;)


Tomorrow is also my baby brother's 16th birthday. Ahhh! So sad. So... happy birthday to him! Love ya, dyl.



This is back when Dylan was sweet... looooong ago. :)

I Accepted This Challenge

There is a challenge floating around the blog world. I got this from Meg . She picked the letter R for me, so I will name 10 of my favorite things that begin with this letter.

If you want to play along just leave me a comment and I’ll assign a letter for you. Just post a blog that lists 10 things that you love, like or lust for that start with that letter…and why.

So here are my R’s in no particular order:


Rain - I love waking up to a good rain storm, peacefully hitting the side of the house.

Rainbows - I love seeing them and being reminded of God's promise. It's also the name of my kid's group on Thursday nights.

Rob Thomas - Because I've loved Matchbox Twenty forever.. seen them in concert three times.. and he's HOT!

Reese's Peanut Butter cups - As the commercial says... so you don't have to choose between chocolate and peanut butter. :)

Rockettes - They are fabulous to watch! They're so precise and amazing!

Red Sox - Of course! I love my baseball!

Radio - Without it I would die! I love listening to K-Love on the way to work, at work on the internet, and on the way home. Positive and encouraging! :)

Reading - Even though I don't do it as much as I used to, I love learning about historic events or reading a guilty pleasure novel.

Red Robin - I love this place! Whether it's a cheeseburger, salad, or their yummy onion rings!

Reese Witherspoon - She's so cute and I love her movies!

Praying with Grateful Heart

I've always wondered and thought about my prayer life. I pray most often in the car -- that happens when you drive 80 miles a day to work. Are prayers still effective when you have the intent to pray before you fall asleep, but instead you being praying and fall asleep in the middle? I know God knows our hearts, but does He ever look down on us and say "Really? You can't even stay awake to talk to me?"

Now, in all fairness I have had company staying over when I fell asleep talking to them.... so when I do it to God, it's like doing it to a friend... right? The other night, it was 10:00 and I was ready for bed, done my routine, etc. My head had just hit the pillow and I began talking to God about various things. Today God gave me great hope about His answers to those prayers. I don't know what He has in store, but it's going to be great whatever it is!

Weekly Goals

I've decided every Sunday to post little goals so that all my readers can be sure to encourage me or kick me in the rear as they see fit! :)

1. Drink more water on the weekends... I do ok during the week; now I need to hop on the train during Saturdays and Sundays.

2. To work out at Curves 4 times this week.

3. No eating out... and if it's a must, then eat salad. :)


Starting slow so that's all for now! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Haiti Trip Update

Some of you may know, some of you don't. In April I have the amazing opportunity to go to Haiti for a week on a missions trip with the Hands and Feet Project.

Some information on the Hands & Feet Project:

MISSION:
Hands and Feet Project exists to care for orphans and to use pop culture to introduce the 1st world to the orphans of the world.

VISION:
To raise a generation of orphans raised by their own culture who will change their country so orphanages are empty and we are out of a job.

Hands and Feet Project, a 501c3 non-profit organization, is a children's village in Jacmel, Haiti that was started by the band Audio Adrenaline in 2004. The land was purchased in late 2004, and construction began in early 2005. Their first little girl arrived in the spring of 2005, and they now care for 36 children ranging in age from 2 months to 9 years old.

Hands and Feet Project is currently building more houses in order to be able to help more children who have been abandoned and will probably have 40 children by the end of 2008. They are hoping to replicate the model that brings artists/bands and orphanages together, with the next project starting soon in Nicaragua with artist T-Bone.

I encourage you to visit their website (http://www.handsandfeetproject.org) to see what this organization is about. While in Haiti, we will be working at the orphanage in Jacmel. They were hit by 2 hurricanes last season and here is much clean up and work to be done. We will be offering our energy and time to that endeavor, as well as spending time with the resident children.

The applications are in, deposit is paid. There's no turning back now! :) Hopefully next week I'll be able to get turn in my passport stuff and get that going.

We're having a meeting next Sunday as well to get to know the people on our team. There are 10 of us going. I'm getting excited; a little nervous about funds and the raising of them, but I know God is faithful and He'll provide like He always does. Our support letters are done and will be mailed out tomorrow.

I'll be posting updates every couple weeks or so. Thanks again for your continued prayers during the process and the journey.

God Bless.