Sprouts and Discipleship

Last night I was already tired, but we had invited some youth over. They were suppose to come at 9, but didn't arrive till almost 10. I was sad about the timing, but glad we got to spend some good time with them. It was fun. Two of them left at 12:30 and then I had some really sweet conversation with another one until 1 or so.

After she left Creighton woke up saying her leg was hurting, but thankfully she went back to sleep by around 1:30. I am not really sure what was wrong with her. She seemed fine this morning.

We got a phone call from another youth about that time though and they (he and Jeff) talked till 2 or later. I was SO tired. I slept soundly from 2-6 and then Jackson came in because he couldn't find his binky. Then at 7 Creighton came in and wanted to nurse, then I took her back to her bed. Then Jackson was up at some time after that but Jeff got up with him and put on a movie I guess (I don't really remember any of that). Then Jeff's alarm went off at 8:30. It was a crazy night/morning, but oh well.

I got up and got showered and dressed and ready for church but when I realized we were going to be a little late to Sunday School, I decided to skip it and pick up the house (even though I was dressed for church). I felt very good about myself this morning! :)

We got to church on time, with both kids dressed and relaxed instead of RUSHED out the door, and they both had breakfast at home instead of in the car or in the classroom. I met up with the two girls that were over last night (for the first time ever) and the three of us went to church. It was a a sweet time because it was just us three getting to be there together. It was also the Sunday for the Lord's Supper and so I got up to go and asked them to join me. We got to do that together and then I prayed and I loved that time. Normally I do that with my family or Jeff and I love that, but today was unique and good. My time with the Lord was sweet during worship and I loved that they got to be there with me. I love these two girls dearly and pray for them a lot.

I don't think it was a coincident that the sermon today was over Personal Discipleship. It is my desire with these girls and has been for a long time, but obviously has to be a two-way thing. We're making progress, but only time will tell. I know seeds have been planted, and I see little sprouts along the way. :)

Most of all, I hope they know I love them and care for them so much! Our pastor's challenge was to pray about who to disciple in 2009. I really hope that their hearts are pricked and ripe and hungry, because I really want to be a part of their spiritual growth and development. Even if it is only one of them...or maybe someone else even.

I suppose another huge desire would be for someone to walk alongside me. Maybe someone else got the message today for me, now that is just as exciting.

Pure Excitement

Tonight we had an event called Pure Excitement in Bartlesville. It was fantastic...and it always is. Joe White puts this event on all over our country and has for years. I absolutely love it. Tonight I had the opportunity to go with 2 of my small group girls. I love love love these girls so much and tonight I just broke. I broke for them. I wept for them and with them. It was really neat. I know that God moved in their hearts and the Lord knows He moved in mine as well.

I was telling one of them as I was taking her home that "I am 27 and married and yet, the Lord still uses nights like that to restore my soul and remind me I am loved, I am forgiven, and I am free from the chains of sin..." That is it. That is what it is all about.

If I could, I would, hands down, make purity decisions for every teen in America. If I could, I would certainly like to redo some of my choices I made as a teen. But I can't do either of those things. But man, if you could see the tears and hear the commitments and listen to the worship, and just be still where I was tonight...at the sight of 200 plus teenagers committing or recommitting their lives to Christ and to purity...your heart would be soaring like mine.

I pray that it isn't/wasn't just an emotional experience that won't last and for some I know that will probably be the case, but even if just one of them change because of what they heard, are different forever because of a choice they made tonight, then it was dang worth it.

I haven't been to Kanakuk in so long. We have visited over the past few years, but I haven't been "IN" it like I was tonight in quite some time. There is good there...lots of good. I love it. I love it that teens are made to feel special and unique and good about themselves and to hear positiveness for a change and that its okay to be different than our culture teaches you to be. I love it. I just do.

I know that my two girls are different tonight as of 8p than they were when they walked in at 6p. God is good. All the time. I prayed so hard for this message to be heard...and it was heard. They heard and they listened and they responded...and I can't be more grateful and blessed and honored to have been able to be there with them. I just LOVE my girls and I could have said what he said tonight until I was blue in the face and they just needed to hear it from a different source...thanks Joe!

The name contains my soul's emotion....Pure Excitement

Busy Few Days...and now very Tired

Man I am so exhausted. You would think I wouldn't be since I haven't had my sweet babies since Saturday afternoon, but I am...completely. Saturday night Jeff and I didn't go to sleep till like almost 2am. Why do we do this? What were we thinking? I don't know...I wasn't feeling well all day Saturday so we were low key: we played games and had dinner and then I was on the computer forever and he played video games FOR.EV.ER....I read for a little bit and finally went to be bed without him...

Then Sunday I wasn't feeling well at all. So I stayed home from church...but then I went to the mission project at Vision Onward which went amazing. Sunday, there were several groups: one group did demolition at house to repair it and make it livable for someone, one group cleaned up a west side park/community center (and planted a flower bed), one group cleaned up the outside of the Vision Onward building, and one group cleaned up a different park by the pool. That was like 6 or so hours.

It was so neat the wide range of people we had there. Youth, little kids, parents...it was neat!

Then Monday was 8-8. It was a long day for those that were there the entire time! But SO much was accomplished. It was so great. I am sad we don't' have before and after pics, only after pictures. But for those of us that were there, it was amazing how much work was accomplished. The building that they are using was a disaster, and now it looks great. I bet we packed over a hundred bags of clothes, shoes, kitchenware, toys, children's things, books, music, random things, hangers, etc... It was unbelievable how much stuff there was. Then there were clean up groups too and electric/plumbing people, carpet people, organizing merchandise, sheet rocking, spackling, hauling off and dropping off at other local ministries, etc etc etc...it was insane, but so neat to see so many people working hard and serving during their Spring Break.

This room had SO much stuff in it...this is where we bagged ALL those bags and hauled them off. Now you can actually see the floor its unbelievable that this is the same facility it was on Sunday.

Okay, so you can kind of see some of the room (and all the stuff) behind sweet Kayla (the Vision Onward's founder's daughter) who worked SO hard all weekend! (sorry not the best picture Kayla, but I needed to show the room and it was the best I had) :)

You could NOT even walk in this room before we started! There were tools, sawdust, sheet rock, wood, merchandise, trash, lots of stuff everywhere....now, I am so proud :)

I left early on Monday to go home and get ready for my small group adventure to Tulsa/sleepover. A few of the girls came over early to help me with my makeup (she did SUCH a good job). Then we picked up one more girl and four of us went down early to go shopping. It was insane how much shopping was accomplished in 2.5 hours. I did buy a really cute shirt that I am excited to wear. Then we met up with 2 other girls that drove down for dinner at Olive Garden...and it was SOOOOOO good. I love OG. I got manicotti that I have never had before and it was FABULOUS. Then we went to Freckles for custard and that was good too. Then headed back here and 3 more girls came over at 10:30 to hang out.

We stayed up way too late and had lots of fun. We slept in and the last girl left about 1p this afternoon...it was so much fun but my eyes are barely staying open. We made blueberry pancakes and bacon this morning and played Guitar Hero III on the Wii. It was a blast.

It's been a wild last few days--non stop, action packed, no sleeping fun. I have Ladies Night Out tonight and I hope I make it to the end :) But my plan is to sleep ALL day tomorrow, (not really) because the kids are coming back home Thursday :) They have been doing really well at John and Debbie's and last night they went to Terrie and Philips. I hope they are as good! :)

Spring weather is so wonderful

Umm...hello! Today was A-mazing! The weather was gorgeous! I loved every second of it. It is still nice out...not too chilly...but perfect! Jeff took a few hours off this morning to hang out with me and look for a new Bible

***side story***
On Friday my parents were coming up for lunch and to hang out with the kids...and while I was cleaning up Jackson's room and getting Creighton dressed, Jackson was in the kitchen destroying my Bible! I cried...It was the Bible I was planning to give Creighton on her 18th birthday. I was distraught. I was livid. I was sad. I was furious. I felt like I might hurt Jackson for doing this, so I smacked his hand 3 times and put him in his room and shut the door (as I was shaking). I went back to the kitchen to pick up the pieces praying it wasn't as bad as it looked. It was awful and worse than I thought. I am missing Genesis, Exodus, portions of several minor prophets (as in half pages), all of Philippians, Colossians, some of Ephesians, all of the Johns and Revelation and all of my concordance/reference/dictionary stuff in the back...not to mention ALL of my little notes and pictures and handouts, etc. from within the pages...destroyed...

He has NEVER really torn up a book in all of his life, and he choose MY BIBLE of all books to be his "masterpiece"...it was all I could do! My mom scolded him when she got here, I scolded him, Jeff scolded him, my dad scolded him...I am sure that he has gotten the picture. I just hope he gets that is important and special to me, not that he should be afraid of ever touching any bible again

***back to my original story...I just hadn't posted about it (I was too upset about it then)***

and so we went to the mall and went to Dillard's after not finding the perfect new Bible. Jeff was in need of some new nice clothes and since Dillard's is STILL having the awesome 75% off sale, we got some sweet Ralph Lauren pants and a dress shirt and a jacket. He was in a good mood and decided we needed to go try on another dress for me and I got a shirt and 2 dresses. (although one of them I am not sold on yet and might return). Anyway, we got all of this for really cheap and that is awesome. Then we went to lunch at Outlaws...which I love...and better than that, you all know my love for free food..which it was because his parents gave us a 50$ gift card there for Christmas! (we only still have it because we just got it this week...:))

Then he went to work and I went to get the kids and we went to the park for like an hour and a half and it was beautiful (a tad windy at this particular park because no trees, but awesome anyway)....the kids ate a chocolate bunny (lovely school candy sent home) and got it everywhere (and I didn't care one bit) and then ran and played and swung and slid and had a great time. Then we left and went to the duck park (I had a ton of leftover bread from the Ordination party) and they really enjoyed running around there and feeding the ducks and playing by the water and with the sticks. We left there at nearly 5pm (maybe later I don't remember).

Thankfully I convinced them we needed to shower (because I needed to look decent tonight and they were pretty dirty too). Got us all dressed and raced out the door to meet one of my small group girls at the church at 6...although I was a little late :( Then I had my regular small group and we had a new girl (a girl that we've been trying to get to come for awhile). :) It went mostly REALLY well and I hope she comes back. They all seemed really excited about the trip to Tulsa and sleepover we have planned over Spring Break...awesome! I am so so so excited. My heart was so filled with joy afterwards tonight I could barely contain it!

God is so good! I love the weather and HOPE it stays around forever!...

Tomorrow we are going to the Zoo as a family and I am way excited about that...my dad is coming too! Should be lots of fun and I will get pics there...today I didn't think to bring my camera and I was by myself. I got some (not so great) pics on my phone, but I have NO idea how to do anything but look at them on my phone...

A Re-Spark: Relational Ministry

Several years ago before I had kids I really enjoyed spending one-on-one time with teens...one of my passions! Which is why I spent four summers at Kanakuk as a counselor, why I went into youth ministry, why I applied and was accepted into the Kanakuk Institute, why I lead small groups, and why marrying a youth minister is awesome! :)

However, since I have had kids, this passion of mine was sort of smothered out by the demands of motherhood. My flame has has been re-sparked if you will! I have within the last 36 hours spent awesome quality time of no less than 8 face-to-face hours (and multiple phone/text/email/facebook) with 4 different girls on SEVERAL different occasions for very different reasons. It has been amazing!

It just so happened that one of my small group girls had surgery this week and is at home all week, one of my girls' boyfriends broke up with her (after a long time exclusive relationship), one of them has finally decided she'd like to spend time with me (after a long time of trying to convince her and having given up she called me out of the blue).

I hate that bad things had to happen to my sweet girls in order for these opportunities to arise to a) allow them to see me in this role in their lives, b) allow me the opportunity (and to jump on it), c) re-spark in me this undeniable calling in my life

God is good. I have slowly been sinking back out of my faithfulness to do my quiet time each day, to be on my knees in prayer in general (but especially for them), and just to have a deep soul relationship with my Father... He wasn't gonna let that happen this time...oh, He's been whispering, and I have heard and have chosen to ignore or half-heartedly approach the throne, but this time, I just couldn't say no...couldn't pass it up...and I am so thankful I listened, so thankful that He chose me in this moment in time to love on these girls. So thankful for my past hurts and hang-ups that I can share with them during their hurting so that maybe, just maybe, they won't have to walk the same roads I've walked to get to where I am today (which really, folks, it isn't that far, but I do know that I am changed and renewed and freed!)

Thank you Jesus for this time that you have allowed for me to set aside in my life to pour out my life into these girls. I thank you for all of them. I thank you for their struggles now, knowing later they will be more like you because of them. I thank you for my struggles so that I might be able to help them with theirs. I thank you for not letting me slip through the cracks. Thank you for pursing me, when I didn't care to be pursued...thank you for teaching me that...so I can in turn not give up on my girls. Thank you for who you are and that you are my Savior, my friend, my Father, my helper, my Redeemer, my Creator, my all in all. Thank you Lord. Please give me wisdom, please give them healing, comfort, and peace. Be their all-in-all tonight and forever Lord. Use me Lord. Use me to make an everlasting difference in their world, and for Your Kingdom.

Small tidbit and 2 pics

Saturday night I had a sleep over with two of my small group girls and Brittany. I (hopefully we) had SOOOO much fun. I haven't had a sleep over in a long long long time. We did facial masks, painted toenails, did parafin wax for feet and hands, played board games, watched Disney's Game Plan (a lot cheesy but cute I guess), went out to eat, went to Hastings and caused a scene in the toy isles, among taking LOTS of funny pictures and all sorts of other weird (and girly) things. I didn't sleep much but I had fun and it was so good to be with my girls.

The only down side was when I "burned up" my SIM card in my phone and didn't have a cell for about 2 days. But its fixed now and that is okay! *I might not have your number (again) but I have some of them from Jeff's old phone :)

Creighton and Jackson have both been doing and saying funny things and I have wanted to write about them but at the moment I cannot think of even one! How sad...here is a few pics (totally random) since its been awhile...

As I was waiting for the pics to upload I realized I REALLY hadn't posted many pics lately...and I have a LOT of good ones...so tomorrow or soon I will post more...