The past month and a half.

Despite the silence on my blog for a while, I really have been busy with so many things! Along with summer comes all the busyness of life and enjoying those many days of sunshine. Here is a little update of what I've been up to...

Kali and I were able to take our girls to Junior Camp in July. It was a fun time getting to know our girls better and many decisions were made for Christ! Including one girl accepting Christ!

We took a 2 night camping trip with another family in August. It was a good time of fellowship and nice to get away in the mountains for a little while.

While Kali and I were at camp, we realized how important it is to be involved in our girls' lives outside of church. So, we are doing a once a month fellowship for a time of devotions, games, and a place where they can share their burdens. This picture was our first ever meeting. I'm looking forward to what God will do in their lives through this new ministry.

In August, I was able to head down to Idaho for a week to visit Garrett! A sweet couple let me stay at their house for the week and it was a huge blessing. It was such a great time meeting new friends and of course spending time with my man :) They had a pastor's conference and a college/career camp that we were able to attend while I was there. It sure kept us busy but it was a good time!

A true story.

There once was a girl from Washington. 

And a boy from Idaho.

They had never met before, but little did they know God would allow them to meet in a great way.

One day, this girl and her sister took a trip to Idaho to visit a cousin and catch up with some friends.

The sisters went to their friends church one Wednesday evening, on a lovely April day. This boy from Idaho and girl from Washington caught a glimpse of each other that evening, but didn't meet. 

A few days went by and the sisters were at a friends house for a game night, the boy was there too. They were officially introduced and both came to realize how they really enjoyed the other's company. Through the next few days, they were able to spend time together, with others. They sat back watching and observing each other, but found how much they had in common.

All too soon, it was time to say goodbye to Idaho. The girl went back to Washington not knowing if there would be anything evolving with this handsome boy. Still. she knew God would work everything out and that His ways were best.  

A few days after returning home, the boy contacted the girls' father and asked to 'get to know her.' The father and daughter both prayed and asked God for His will. Upon receiving peace, the boy and girl started corresponding via texts and many multiple hour phone calls.

A month later, it was now time for the boy to officially meet the parents! The boy from Idaho came to meet the parents and get the official stamp of approval. The approval was met and the boy and girl realized how much fun they have together. Their zeal for serving Christ and silly sense of humor brought them together even more over the next month.

Then one day, the boy knew it was time to make it 'official'. After receiving the blessing and approval of the girls' father, they began a wonderful new chapter in their lives. Courtship.

That's right, my friends! I am courting a wonderful, Godly man and we are excited to see how God will continue to work in our relationship :)

Guest Post

Hey all! Here we are, in June already! Last month was filled with fun, crafting, and new beginnings. June has already started out wonderful with the promise of a busy, yet fun-filled month. God's blessing in my life are so abundant and He truly amazes me. I will try to do a little catch up soon :)

Today, is a special treat! I have Mrs. G {a long time family friend and basically a second mom to me} doing a guest post! She has a gift for words and as you will read, is great comparing everyday things to God working in our lives.



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Late spring is the time to prune and fertilize rhododendrons around my area. It is a chore I often put off, because if not done correctly and exactly the right time, there will be no flowers the following year. Consequently, most of my rhodies are overgrown. In fact, the area underneath the giant shrubs is very grotto-like and mysterious. The cats often sit quietly there, peering out at unsuspecting tweety birds that might venture near. Because no light penetrates the canopy, not even weeds grow—a small side benefit. I decided this was the year I would get my rhodies under control. They have grown too large for their beds, too near the house, and the siding is suffering.

I sharpened up the pruners, donned leather gloves and surveyed the target plant. I almost lost heart and purpose as I noticed how beautiful and shiny green the leaves were. Its’ perfect symmetry almost dissuaded me from the task. However I was spurred on by the memory that this plant, always the first to bloom during the very earliest part of spring, had produced no flowers this year—always a sign that pruning is needed. Hardly knowing where to begin, I just grabbed nearest branch and started cutting and cutting…what I found was very disheartening. Underneath the lovely canopy of green was: nothing! Just an intricate skeletal system of branches, supporting leaves at the exterior ten percent of the plant. This was not a healthy shrub! It should have had layers of leaves. Because of my years of neglect, it was necessary to cut this lovely, favorite shrub back 30 percent, only saving enough leaves to continue photosynthesis so the plant could survive.

 

A favorite devotional book of mine is “Secrets of the Vine,” by Bruce Wilkinson. He masterfully describes how God (the vine) manages his branches (us,) how he prunes and tends us like the loving vine-dresser he is, so we are able and fit to produce fruit, or good works for him. I always thought the pruning was punishment, but through scripture have learned that it’s the “good” growth which must be correctly pruned and trained. Chastisement has a much different look. As I was pruning off the plants green growth, it appeared pretty and healthy, but not fruitful. It’s true condition? The leaves were just show, while the true fruit, flowers, had not emerged this year. Further examination exposed evidence of storm damage, most likely from the two extremely harsh winters we experienced a couple of years ago. There were quite a few dead and non-producing branches. Are we like that? Is our outside 10 percent looking pretty good, while the inside of us has life and sin-damaged branches that are not producing anything of value? Is the new growth being stunted? 

Obviously we are not plants that can prune ourselves. We would not know what to cut and when. This must be left up to the Master Gardener. I am sure if the rhodie had feelings it would complain and maybe even cry about my seeming callousness. Our response should be to accept His knowledgeable husbandry. A natural characteristic of rhododendrons is the shedding of dead and diseased leaves. Our responsibility is to shed off the sinful things in our life in a daily regeneration through prayerful confession and determination to grow His way. This makes us clean and healthy for the gardener who loves us for eternity, but who also wants us to bear precious fruit for him while we sojourn in his beautiful garden.

I am looking at my sad, denuded rhodie. Most of it now sits on the burn pile, but it will not die; it is not forgotten. I stirred up the dirt beneath, gave it a good dose of fertilizer and settled on a nice blanket of mulch. By pruning it I probably saved its life. It is a favorite, and I did what was best for it to continue to produce gorgeous flowers. I hope I am growing enough that the Gardener needs to prune me.

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How true is this. If it were up to us, we probably wouldn't do any pruning in our lives. It hurts, it's sometimes scary, but always necessary. I am so thankful that even though pruning hurts, God uses it to make us into the person He wants us to be.  

Idaho Trip

Well, here it is. We made a slide show with some pictures and also video's of our Idaho trip! We did fail to take pictures with the friends we were visiting (although we DID get our cousin), our awesome game night, and the great church we were able to attend. Boo. Yet, we did get some great shots from star-gazing in the park, the super-fantastic candy store, and other random things :)

Enjoy!

Rejoicing in the impossible

First off, Kali and I had a wonderful time in Idaho!! I don't think I've laughed so hard, in a long time. BUT more on our trip later...

The same day Kali and I drove back from Idaho, we had the Lord answer one of those 'seemingly' impossible situations.

You know, it's that moment where you are so amazed at the Lord's goodness but so surprised at the same time that God made what seemed impossible, the possible. It really shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did, since I serve an already AMAZING God, but it did.

"And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." Mark 10:27

In my mind, this seemed like one of those 'impossible' situations, but God saw it as possible. Honestly, at this point I had accepted this situation as something God wanted in my life, it was hard, but I had finally accepted it as His infinite plan for my life.

It was so cool the way the Lord worked it out too. Just the night before we had been talking with a friend and the friend was encouraging us in this exact, same situation.

As I was thinking about it, I am truly thankful God waited so long to make this 'impossible' possible. Maybe if He solved it sooner, I wouldn't have learned and grown so much in the Lord, through this trial.  Another amazing reminder that my ways are not the ways of my wonderful Saviour.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD." Isaiah 55:8

Here's the clincher, even if God didn't solve this situation in the wonderful and miraculous way that He did, He still is amazing. God knows exactly what we need in our lives and what He needs to put us through to make us stronger in the Lord. Even though that 'refining' might hurt and not be the most pleasant thing to go through, God has a purpose and His way is always best!

So, if you have some situation in your life that is seemingly 'impossible' just remember that God solves the 'impossible' every day. It might not be in your timeline of how things should go, but God has a greater and far superior timeline that makes it that much sweeter when He does solve it!

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Ephesians 3:20

My brain is spinning

You know that feeling, right before you leave on a vacation, your brain is spinning/swirling around trying to remember anything you need, might possibly need, or things you probably won't need but pack it anyways.

That's exactly how I'm feeling right now. Kali and I are taking a sister road trip to Idaho and we are leaving early in the morning. Exciting? Yes. Racking my brain to remember every little item I might need? Yes.

Of course, I am leaving Julian here, and I must confess that I will miss my little man. Almost a whole week without seeing him, or the kids Kali watches will be definitely weird. I really love those kids. Although, this is a much needed vacation and I am SO looking forward to it!

Prayer Request Update: Ruby {the baby I mentioned in my last post} has been diagnosed with infant botulism. She is still in the Seattle Children's hospital, and will continue to be there for several weeks for recovery. Slowly but surely she is showing signs of improvement. Thank you all for the prayers and I ask you continue to pray for her! God has truly blessed them with a great hospital to care for her every need.

A few things

As I sit here typing, the wind is blowing and the skies are gray. Not exactly a 'cheery' April day as I was hoping. Last weekend, the ladies from our church went to the west side of the state for a ladies conference. It was raining almost the entire time we were there, and ever since we got back to the east side it's been gloomy and gray. I guess we must have brought it back with us.

Even though I grew up on the coast, I confess that I enjoy the warmth and cheerfulness of the bright, sunny days, more than the comforting feeling of home that rain brings me. All that being said, I'm crossing my fingers the weather gets better soon!

As I mentioned, the ladies of our church went to a ladies conference last weekend. As always, it was tons of fun to spend time with the ladies and meeting fellow Christians.

The theme was 'somewhere in time' and they try to get the ladies to dress up according to the theme. All of our ladies dressed up and it was so fun to see the different decades around the room.

Out of over 200 ladies present, I was drawn for one of three door prizes! That was great, especially since it was a basket of ice cream sundae fixings :)

We did our yearly 'spend a full day shopping on Saturday', since we were close to lots of shopping. It's always fun shopping with friends!

We are in the middle of our Mission's Conference this week with Bro. Jayne from Long Beach, WA. It has been a blessing to have him and his wife with us this week and the messages God has given him have been great!

On a little side note..I have a prayer request regarding this sweet baby (she is the one I'm holding in the picture above)

Ruby is about 7 months old and she has been in the hospital for about 2 days now, she flew to the hospital in Seattle for further care today. She has been very lethargic, weak, and not wanting to eat anything. It came upon her very suddenly and of course it has her parents and our whole church concerned about her. Please pray for God's healing hand and that the doctor's would have wisdom on what exactly is going on in her little body. Thankfully, we have an awesome God, Who has everything under His control!

A cousin's visit

We don't get too see our {quite large} extended family very often, but when we do it's always lots of fun! Our cousin, Selma, had her spring break in March and was able to spend most of it with us. Kali and I made a mini-road trip out of it to pick her up in OR. We left on a Friday night and came back Saturday, which makes for a very long weekend {about 7 hours each way}.

Of course, we were able to get together {and have a very short visit} with some of our family that lives in Oregon too! It's always great to see them!

As always, it was so fun to have Selma around for several days!

Moldy Cheese or Caramel Corn?

Have you ever had these?

There are several types of jelly beans but two kinds of each color. You can pick your color but as you place it into your mouth you don't know what you are about to eat.

Here are your options:

Skunk Spray or Licorice

Rotten Egg or Buttered Popcorn

Canned Dog Food or Chocolate Pudding

Booger or Juicy Pear

Baby Wipes or Coconut

Pencil Shavings or Top Banana

Toothpaste or Berry Blue

Barf or Peach

Moldy Cheese or Caramel Corn

Centipede or Strawberry Jam

Disgusting right?!

This was very comical with the kids but some even kept coming back for more! Of course, several adults from church {myself included} tried some and I can tell you that the risk is not worth it!

These jelly beans also doubled as my object lesson for the kids. How our 'yummy or good words' can leave a good taste in someone's mouth, but those 'yucky or not nice words' leave a very gross taste in someone's mouth. The thing about those bad words too is that just like the gross jelly beans, the taste usually stays longer in your mouth than the yummy ones.  

Just thought I share a little humor from my weekend!

Happy Tuesday!

Valentines Banquet

Our Valentines Banquet was a hit and went off without any problems on Friday! Not only did the couples have a great time but so did the workers!

Skit crew! It turned out awesome! {If you didn't watch the skit we performed, check out my last post!}

As I mentioned in my previous post, Kali and I were in charge of the decorations {with the help of some others to help get it all up}! It was great to see the place transform into a love oasis! ;)

Teen Blizzard

I had the privilege, this past weekend, to go with a group of teens {and other adults} to an overnight youth activity! It's called 'The Blizzard' and a church around our area has it every year for a fun time of fellowship in the winter months. Lots of games, food, awesome preaching, getting to know our teens better, and meeting more like-minded Christians. 

It was a pretty loud trip to the church, but fun! I had forgotten how loud/crazy teenagers can be! Haha!

Take a picture of you, taking a picture of me :)

The teens didn't want to cooperate with the picture taking process. I believe we had 8 total. They definitely

kept us adults laughing the whole time.

One of the games was tossing a swimming noodle through a hula hoop, it's harder than it sounds!

The theme for this year was 'Who you gonna call?' centered around superheroes. The preaching was excellent! Bro. Fountain Jr. brought out the fact that those people/images are not real superheroes, but God is the real Superhero!

I was able to catch an absolutely beautiful sunrise, over the snow covered mountains. God's creation is truly majestic!

Fantastically, fun weekend

We had a friend come home from bible college last week! {Amanda is the one on the far left} On Saturday, we had a day filled with fun spending time with her!

--Surprise early birthday party for her {Above picture ^}

--Bowling with the ladies

--Night snowmobiling {First.time.ever. and it was SO much fun!}

--Girls sleepover!

It was a blessing to hear her testimony of God working in her life since she started going to college. God is truly good!

The fantastically, fun weekend was rounded off by a fabulous Sunday spent in God's house. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my church kids?! I am so, so thankful/blessed to be able to teach those precious little ones!



Hello 2013

I love new beginnings. A new year means a new start and a fresh outlook on your life.

We spent New Year's Eve at church {watch night service} and had a wonderful time with friends and family. We worshipped God in songs and testimonies, heard from His Word, played games, prayed in the new year,  and {of course} when your Baptist you can't have a fellowship without lots of yummy food!

My dad and Bro. Cody each brought forth a mini-message that God had laid on their hearts. A great reminder to look back at this past year, recognize how you might have failed Christ or made mistakes, taking this fresh start to correct them {knowing that God will be with us, each step of the way}. A sort of 'rebooting' those areas of your life that need to be corrected. Also, looking forward to seeing what God will do in this next year. Great, great messages.

One of the songs that was sung last night was 'As the Deer'. This song was more popular was I was a kid, but the lyrics are so powerful. I am making this my 'song' for the new year. As a sort of resolution and reminder to keep God my #1 and my most precious treasure. There will be trials and joys {no doubt} with this new year, but no matter what I want people see Jesus through me in those rough and happy times.

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after Thee
You alone are my hearts desire
And I long to worship Thee

Chorus:
You alone are my strength my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my hearts desire
And I long to worship thee

You're my friend and You are my Brother,
Even though You are a King.
I love You more than any other,
So much more than anything.

I want You more than gold or silver,
Only You can satisfy.
You alone are the real joy Giver,
And the apple of my eye.

"As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God."

Psalms 42:1

Happy New Year!

Christmas Party

My family had our Christmas party on Saturday night!

We all had so much fun with games such as....

{Throwing marshmallows into a bucket}

{Trying to get a pom pom attach to your vaseline covered nose}

{Transfer M&M's to another plate with only a straw, then make a smiley face}

{Get the cookie from your forehead to your mouth, without using your hands}

{Stack the metal nuts with a wooden dowel}

{Unwrap presents with snow gloves}

It was so nice to sing and play Christmas hymns, praising our Saviour for sending His Son so many years ago...

We also set up a photo booth...and maybe had a little too much fun with it! :)

8 Days until Christmas!!