Camp is serious stuff!

Camp was AWESOME!  We had a great group of 24 kids and 9 "adults".

The message was based on Micah 6:8 - "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God."

What a great message for our kids [and for me too]!  I was very convicted by the act justly lesson because I don't always treat people as they should be treated... especially Da. And I unconsciously take advantage of the fact that he's old and forgets easily... but he does remember how people make him feel and I have not made an effort to make him feel welcome and wanted.

HFC has some of the most awesome kids ever... I'm NOT just trying to be nice because some of you read my blog :). I expected drama with that many kids and especially with that many girls but there really wasn't any! The kids were well behaved and pretty responsible. We had a couple of the younger boys losing their stuff on a daily basis but everyone was where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there. I witnessed several of the girls reaching out to some of the more withdrawn/shy kids and that was extremely touching.

This part is borrowed from Shirley's Blog because she's a better writer than me... :)
We had an opportunity to meet, Brooke, a Compassion International sponsored child, now in his senior year in college in Kenya studying social work. His passion is to start an orphanage in Kenya to help those who have no hope. What an amazing testimony. He shared what life would be like in Kenya living in poverty. Both of his parents are gone. All of his childhood friends are gone. A typical home is a 10x10 shanty that will hold from 4-6 people. IF they have any food, it is only one meal per day of vegetables and a maize flour mixture called ugali. He said that Africans are praying people – they pray night and day because they are totally and utterly dependant upon God. They pray and give thanks for a meal that isn’t even in front of them yet!! He didn’t have a pair of shoes until he was 9. On Sunday, he was wearing flip-flop style shoes made out of motorbike tires!!


The most profound thing that I took away from his talk was his comment about how easy it is to complain in America. We have SO much and we are SO comfortable and SO blessed, and yet we find things to complain about! He said that in Africa, they don’t complain – they are so thankful when they do receive a meal. Amazing!

Camp...

Pictures are up (Picasa). Camp was awesome. I'm tired :)  Will post more later....

Secret Church...

The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL has been doing Secret Church.

Here is how they answer the question of What is Secret Church?:

When we think of "church" in America, we think of going to meet at a building, singing, praying and hearing a message from a Pastor or teacher. But in many places around the world, "church" meets in a home, an apartment, even in secret. These small groups of Christ-followers often meet for many hours in study, prayer and fellowship, as it is dangerous to travel to "church" and they want to make the most of their time together.

Secret Church is our "house church," where we meet periodically for an intense time of Bible study--lasting 4-6 hours--and prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters across the globe. This is not for the uncommitted or faint at heart. But if you desire to know God more deeply through His Word, and know His Church more fully around the world, then please join us for Secret Church.

God will use this focused time of study to enrich our knowledge of His Word as we gain understanding of the state of His Church and our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. The objective of Secret Church is for you to pass along what you learn to others, so that you can make disciples of Christ--both locally and globally.


Rachel and her wonderful small group girls invited me to join them for a podcast about Spiritual Warfare.  We did 2 hours tonight and will do 2 hours next week.  It. was. amazing. eye-opening. challenging. overwhelming....... I can't wait to finish it. then watch it again.... so I know I didn't miss anything :)

catch up...

• D's phone interview went well... they just wanted to verify his resume and confirm his interest in the job. The next step is to wait.... we're getting pretty good at that!

• Da is home from the hospital and getting home health. He is still incredibly weak and doesn't really realize it.  He was on an IV in the hospital that made him retain fluids (he gained 30 lbs in about a week).  Now that he's off of the IV, the fluids are being released.  Mom has been getting up at all hours of the night to empty his urinal so that he doesn't try to get up and then fall.  Mom is back at work this weekend and Dad is taking care of him during the day. I will be going over there tomorrow to give Dad a chance to go fishing in this beautiful weather.

• D's truck (2001) died... for good.  We will most likely be buying my Dad's company truck when the lease is up pretty soon. Until then, we are borrowing Mom's truck or Dad's giant jeep. We are quick to give God the credit for this provision!  When he told me his truck was dead, my first thought was "Thanks God! I can't wait to see how you are going to work in this!"

• I am SO behind in my Living Beyond Yourself study!  UGH!

• Our church has revamped their website (Harvestfield Church) and started a podcast on Itunes! I am so excited... now I can have something new to distract me while I'm working out!

Good Weekend...

Saturday, D and I went with our friend Allen to Trussville to Buffalo Wild Wings and Target.  Dinner & shopping were great but the company was even better.  After we got back in town, we all went over to a friend's house for game night.  It was so much fun for us girls to get together and the guys even admitted to having fun too!  I think game night will be a monthly event from now on :)

Today, we went to church and then had home group at our house.  Our group is growing and it feels good.  The kids (except for Elijah) had fun playing with big Bronco.  Bronco is at least 3 times bigger than Elijah... I would be scared too!  

Call the humane society...

So this morning started off pretty normal. Sleep in, get ready for church leisurely, arrive about 25 minutes late but there in time for a couple of songs and the sermon which was great! We are in week 3 of a marriage series. Eric did (as always) a great job of reminding us that we must "choose to love each other". "Happy" should fall into place when everything else is done within God's will. Take divorce off the table. Reassure each other that you will never divorce and it is not an option. Will trouble come? surely as I breathe. Does God want you to do everything in your (and His) power to stay together? absolutely!

Small group was good too. 3 out of the 4 families were there. We've been talking about Acts . (Click on "Acts" for the lesson). I feel like we need more people in our home group. I would really love to see us grow. It seems like everyone I've invited is excited and then never shows up :(. If you are reading this and want to try it out send me an email.

After home group it was time for some grocery shopping while D watched football. I was talking to my friend Allen on my way to walmart and he said he would come shopping with me since he needed to as well. D, Allen, and I spend a lot of time together and have a good friendship. We ran into about 10 friends from church and neighbors who looked at him like "i don't think you're her husband". It was pretty funny.

As D and I were putting groceries away, the doorbell rang. It was our older neighbor. Her eyes and nose were red and teary. She asked if she could come in and talk to us. Weird. So she starts in with.... "you know, Donald and I really love Bronco and Donald just loves to play with her." I'm thinking.... she's about to tell us something crazy that Bronco does while we're at work that is driving them crazy and we should get rid of him. So she tears up again and says "she's just been laying out there under that tree staring into our kitchen window all day with those puppy dog eyes in the cold, rainy weather". HEY LADY.... He's a DOG! and he's a MOUNTAIN dog. He LOVES this weather. Oh and PS... Bronco is a boy!

Then she says, "We want to buy 'her' from you. Our starting offer is $200. I'm sure she's getting pretty expensive now to feed." blah blah blah... She went on and on even with me telling her "we don't want to sell him. we love him" over and over again.

So after she left, we felt guilty and let the poor baby in for awhile.

Blah De Blah

I spent most of the day yesterday with D's family. His mom and aunt told me I was "beautiful" at least 20 times. I just don't see it. I am sure they were being sincere but part of me thinks: Are they just being nice b/c they know I have issues with weight?

I hung out with Rachel and Katie last night for a couple of hours. Katie is really sweet and I would like to get to know her better.

We are officially joining Harvestfield today!! I am excited about having a church and next week we will start the home group. Hopefully we will enjoy the people. I worry more about D liking everyone than me. And it'll be on Sunday afternoons and he will want to watch NFL instead. Is it just a priority thing? 1. Football/TV, 2. Games, 3. Life? I don't get it but I love him.

We went to our first church function at HFC tonight (Fall Fest). It was fun but we felt kind of out of place because we don't have kids. Tracy, Chris and Abe (13 months) were there and that made me feel better b/c Abe couldn't really participate in the games yet. There was tons of chili and we entered a pot. YUM. Tracy introduced me to the people in our small group. They all seem nice. I just told D about the home group - oops! I didn't realize I hadn't yet. He seemed receptive.

I always felt like I "found myself" in college but I'm seeing new things everyday that I didn't know...

1. I LOVE new journals and calendars because of all the amazing and unexpected things that will fill them up! I'm learning to live and enjoy each day as a gift and not wish them away.
2. I've changed. The me that I "found" back then is different. My thoughts, emotions, experiences, confidence, reactions... everything. I desire so much more out of life.
3. I expect more of myself and others because I feel I have settled in many areas of my life before and I can't anymore!
4. My family is something to be cherished and not taken for granted.
5. I want to do more than just work and come home. I want to help people outside of work, outside of myself.
6. I finally have good friends that I chose and they chose me. I may not have lots of them but the ones I have are very valuable.
7. Even after 4 (almost) years of marriage and a total of 9 years together, D can still surprise me, read my mind, and give me butterflies.