We're Back!

The blog is back, life is full and I can't wait to connect here with you all again!  You guys, to say these past several months have been awesome seems like such a weak assessment.  We have been all over the place, meeting new people, sharing God's love, serving with our students and loving life with our son.  It has also been difficult at times -just learning how to balance family time, staying on top of everything while going in a million different directions and keeping meaningful connections with the people we love in our life while feeling spread thin at times.  With every step God takes us, we are learning and growing and with every breath He is leading us.  Every opportunity is a blessing and we want to take full advantage of that time together as a family.  So, what exactly have we been up to and what is coming up on the blog?  Glad you asked!...Here is a super duper brief (well, actually it turned into a kind of long) recap of what we have been doing...

First up back in the beginning of June we hosted our annual VBA (vacation bible awesomeness) at church.  We always think of this event as a summer kick off for our student ministry and love it so much.  This year we changed things up a bit and enjoyed doing something different.

Our last night we totally turned things around and had an interactive type of worship night.  I really want to do a full post on this one,  we had so much going on at one time and yet it all worked together and turned into this awesome time of worship together.  We are always searching for ideas and new things for youth group so I would love to share what we came up with and maybe it will spark some ideas for others.  It was definitely a labor of love, but worth every minute spent putting it together.

The very next week we headed off to our favorite place ever - Fort Caswell for our summer camp.  Our theme for the week was Speak Up, Step Up, Stand Up.  It was a great challenge for us and we now have a goal as a youth group- #30 people.  There is just something special about this place and its always a sweet time together.

Next we were off to NJ for our mission trip.  We helped with some hurricane Sandy relief, hosted vbs for kids, painted houses, prayed with people and talked about Jesus to those we were serving.  We also had this impromptu whirlwind of a trip to NYC.  I think its definitely something none of us will forget.  Such a fun few hours to spend together.  We pretty much ran through times square, snapped a few photos and were out.

We had so many great trips this summer, but there was something really special about our Panama trip. I love going with our students on foreign mission trips.  They break out of their comfort zones, they serve with full abandon and grow so much during that week.  They see God work and get so excited. 

While in Panama we met our twins.  David and Marianella.  They were the missionaries we worked with and we connected almost immediately.  Our sons are the same age and I can't tell you how much I missed Silas on this trip.  I don't know if they realized how much they encouraged me that week.  I know God put Marianella in my life that week for that purpose, to help bring encouragement to a tired mom.  I prayed that I could do the same for her that week as well.  I think we looked at each other and immediately knew - I know how you feel!  What a great and unexpected blessing God provided that week.  

We are pumped because we are getting another chance to go pack to Panama next year.  I can't even begin to explain the excitement.

While there we just fell in love with these people, these children and women and families.  The people in Panama are so open and eager to hear God's word.  The work that David and Marianella are doing is so awesome.  They are reaching so many villages and schools and have made so many great connections in the three years they have been there.  It was humbling and a blessing to just be a tiny part of what is going on in Panama for God's kingdom.

After Justin took another NY trip with our college students we enjoyed one of the funnest vacations ever in Disney World!

Seriously, this was simply just down right fun.  I had not been to Disney since I was 16 and Justin had never been so we decided to go for it.  This was actually kind of a last minute decision for us.  We knew we were going to Florida, but Disney just kind of came out of nowhere about 3 weeks out.  

To only have 3 weeks to plan everything, it actually came together really easily.  We researched and saved money on our tickets, got a great price on a great condo and figured out the best way to do our meals for maximum savings.  I'm really kind of thinking of writing a Disney post because I feel like I learned a lot.  And, we would totally do it all over again.  It was just so much fun, I can't say that enough.

And, yes I was the first one in line for Mary Poppins.  She is totally the best.

Ok, so now that this post is easily becoming the longest post in history let me continue on by sharing what is on my mind for things to come on the blog.  For one, I have missed it- so I can't wait to get going again.  And for two, Justin has declared that he is only motivated to work on house things when the blog is rolling so that was all the motivation I needed to start back again.  I have a bunch of blog house cleaning type things I need to do, like update the project page and such but those things are really not number one on the list of things to do right now.  I have a lot of other post ideas running through my mind, which I'm happy to have an outlet for.  

So to kick things back into gear let's start with the most obvious of things - a completed patio post.  I totally left everyone hanging this summer on that one.  In case anyone is wondering, our patio was finished way back in the Spring and has been enjoyed over and over again by us (and others) this summer (when we were here).  It is probably our most favorite thing we have done at our house - so check back in tomorrow for the patio in all of its glorious completeness.  

Hope everyone has a wonderful week and thank you so much for stopping by!  

Be The City - Missions Week

Its turning into that time of year when I tend to start feeling overwhelmed.  We have a huge summer coming up with vba, summer camp and three mission trips - all of which we are so excited about (PS - we are going to Panama!).  We also have various events leading up to the summer that we are in the midst of planning and working out final details.  Friday night I'm hosting a girls night for our high school girls and we are making shoes for Sole Hope.  I can't wait to share about it!  We also have a Middle School Dinner Theatre this weekend and our big Senior Salute Celebration is on the horizon.  So, lots and lots of plans ahead for our us personally.  Also in the meantime we are attempting to complete our patio project as well as some others things.  And! Coming up next week I'm part of a fun Handmade Mother's Day series hosted by Kelly.  So excited!

Ok, now that you are all caught up on my life (you're welcome for that) let me rewind a bit and share about a recent student ministry missions week we did during Spring Break.

So during our students' spring break this year we decided to host a missions week doing projects here in our own city.  Our week consisted of a vbs for a local community, packaging food for our town's crisis ministry, sponsoring children and taking them to a fun museum and working at our local food bank.  We do a lot of events, retreats and things with our students but this was one of my favorites.  Ok, here comes a big photo dump.

We had such a sweet time hanging out with the kids we had for vbs.  We played games, made crafts, ate together and shared Jesus.  Justin and I were humbled and excited to see teenagers give up their spring break to serve their community.  I know sometimes teens get a bad rap and older generations worry about the future generations.  There are some awesome, loving, giving and generous teenagers being raised up.  I'm so excited to see what God does in their future.  

 Next, we took some time to buy a whole lot of rice and beans and then packaged them up for families in crisis.  We have a great Crisis Ministry here in our town that does a lot for our community and we were glad to be able to help a little.  I love that Silas was able to come and help too for this.  He loves our students and they are a great example for him.  He couldn't wait to jump in and help package food.

During the week we also were able to take a group of kids from our community (that our church is ministering to) to the Marbles Kids Museum.  Its a really hands-on, interactive and fun museum.  Not only do we have a great group of teenagers who took the kids but we have a great group of adults who sponsored these kids for the day.  Our adult classes at church gave a special offering so we were able to do this.  It was such a blessing all around. 

 Our last day we spent volunteering at our city's food bank.  Justin and I have worked at food banks all over the country on various mission trips but have never been to our own.  We loved being there and I have to brag - our city has a really organized and well run food bank who feeds thousands of people all over our state.  We packaged, boxed and organized food for them that day.  We all now know the difference between a yam & sweet potato...I think.

Thanks for letting me share a little bit about our students.  We are so thankful for what we do and to be able to serve alongside of them.  

Hope you guys are having a great week!

Our Weekend - Disciple Now

We had the best weekend.  Each year our student ministry hosts a disciple now weekend here at our church.  Its pretty much a weekend retreat but done here at home.  We had an amazing speaker - EJ Swanson who joined us as well as an awesome band - The Justin Teseniar Band.  They led us in our worship times and we love, love having them with us.  Our group was really challenged this past weekend and so many students made steps in the right direction, increased their faith, grew in Christ and even accepted Christ as their Savior.  These times are so special to us, we are so thankful for being able to do this with our youth.  We have an amazing group of adults and college students who set apart their weekend to help host students in their homes, drive them all around town, feed them, lead them in bible studies, cry with them, laugh with them and just pour into their lives.  What a blessing to see our church come together to teach and love teenagers - so precious.

Justin and I love this weekend for so many reasons.  Since its just our group we all get the chance to make deeper connections.  Each group is divided by age and gender for their small group times.  Those times are so important to the students.  That's where real discussions, fellowship and sharing happens.  We also enjoy this weekend because we get the chance to plan every detail.  We plan the activities, the theme, the small group questions, etc.  We prayed and prayed over this event this year and it was awesome to see each and every detail work out.  God's hand in this was present from the beginning months ago and He was faithful until the end yesterday.  We saw students who we have been praying for- for a really long time - whose heart was burst open wide for Jesus.  It just doesn't get any better than that.

One of our big activities for the weekend was an Amazing Race challenge.  These guys were revved.  They came dressed in their war paint, their thrift store finds and whatever these guys are dressed in below.  We had stations set up all over town where they went and completed tasks to receive their next clue.  It was so much fun!  Shout out to all of the awesome adults who braved the cold and helped run a station.  

Our theme for the weekend was "One".  Justin and I had prayed over this for a while and this just kept coming up for us.  We just believed it was perfect timing to focus on unity, togetherness and being one with each other the way God desires us to be.  It was so cool to see this group really work on unity, to forgive and reconcile, to reach out and to have true fellowship.  I can't say enough how awesome it was.

We took several weeks working on a big photo prop.  We wanted to get a pic of every student and have them all together on stage for the event.  We also grabbed photos of our town, schools and church.  We wanted it to be a symbol of us coming together as One to bring God's message to our area.  We decided to use instagram and we printed them using prinstagram.  This company was awesome - super fast and great quality photos (and I'm just saying that because I love them).  We used foam board and photo mounting tape to get them all together.  It was kind of a tedious process but so worth it.  We are planning on doing something more with these later.

Justin and I cherish these moments.  Its such a blessing to be able to do what we do.  We have amazing students who are running after God and we are so thankful to get to be a part of their lives.

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!  I will be here tomorrow co-hosting the GFC blog hop with The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife so make sure you come back and link up!  Its a great way to meet new bloggy friends!

Linking Up Here:

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child is a ministry part of Samaritans purse that provides gifts for children in need all over the world.  You simply grab a shoebox (or similar sized box) and fill it with little gifts, hygiene supplies, candy and goodies for a boy or a girl. Its such a great ministry and one that we as a church and youth group participate in every year.  I thought it would be fun to share a little behind the scenes job that our students do every year to help this awesome ministry.

After all of the boxes our dropped off at our church we load them all up and take them over the main drop off location in our area (which is the YMCA).  We then get the privilege of packing up all of the boxes that have been dropped off to be sent away to the children.

This year we packed up 2, 800 boxes together and I think our students did it in about 30 minutes.  They were on a roll and worked so hard.  I love seeing them get excited about serving others - its such a blessing to me.

There is something really cool about packing up all of the christmas boxes knowing that a child somewhere in the big wide world will soon be opening it up and receiving a little gift from a stranger who just wanted to show a little love.  I have a friend who was a missionary in Africa who got to experience this on the other side - when the boxes were delivered.  She said it was one of the coolest experiences in her life as the kids lined up and the smiles and excitement spilled over as they each received a gift.

When we are surrounded with so much consumerism and stuff here in America its crazy how something as simple as a toothbrush, soap, a few dollar store toys, socks, candy and some crayons can be a special and exciting gift for a child.

One of great parts of this ministry is that they don't just drop off boxes and leave.  They share the story of Jesus and the Gospel.  If you have time you should read some of the stories on their website.  Stories of children who live in some of the most desolate of places who desperately want new pencils and socks so they can do better in school since education is so important to them since it provides a way out.

The time for shipping boxes this year has come to a close but there are so many ways to bless other families this christmas season.  Its not just about someone receiving a new brush but someone receiving the love of Jesus.  Pray about who you can bless this year!

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” Luke 3:11

Weekend in a Glimpse

Last weekend we took our students to Camp Caraway for our Fall Retreat.  We had an amazing time together as a group.  God was working and it was evident.  We are so excited about this upcoming year, we know that there are greater things yet to come.

This happened...one of the funniest things ever.  

We talked a lot about Going Back to the Start last weekend- Spending time with Jesus (reading His word) develops a deeper Love for Him which leads us to obedience - which unity is a by product of.  If we want to bring Jesus to others we have to be united, time to get Back to the Start.   

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  John 14:15

I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.  John 17:33

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11

So next week Share Your Story comes back!  I'm excited to start back up again. There are some awesome young women who have great encouragement to give so check back next Wednesday for that!

Have a wonderful Wednesday! Thanks for stopping by!

Share Your Story : Jordan

It's Share Your Story day!  Today we are joined by Jordan, a sweet 16 year old.  She is full of so much joy and cheer.  Her bubbly personality spills out to everyone around her and she loves to see others smile.  Can't wait for you to meet Jordan!

Tell us a little about yourself!  My name is Jordan, and I am a sophomore in high school. I am 16 years old, and I enjoy teenage things like playing sports, hanging out with friends, eating and sleeping.

When did you become a Christian?  I was born and raised in a christain home, so a lot of different people influenced me in my walk with God; probably my mom the most, but also my sunday school teachers and friends. I accepted christ when I was 8, after I went to a camp called Masters Inn. My brother and I accepted christ together, and were baptized together also.

Tell us about a difficult time in your life that challenged your faith.  Throughout my life I have faced many different trials, and things that really tested my faith with God.  Of the many that I experienced, I would say one of the toughest things for me was when my best friend died in 7th grade. He was very close with me and I really cared about him.  When he suddenly passed away in 7th grade, I was heartbroken. At first, my initial reaction was denial. I didnt believe it had actually happened. Once I realized it was real, I was really angry with God. I ignored God for almost 5 months. I didnt want to worship a God who didn't save my best friend. How could I love a God like that? So I drifted for a while.

How did God work in your life through this tough circumstance?  How did you find healing?  I went to youth camp that summer and it was while I was there that I realized that God still loved me and everyhing he did was for a reason, and I asked for forgiveness for drifting away.  My heart began to mend and I knew God had never left my side.  He offered peace and comfort through the time of pain. You see, when I was angry with God, I was so alone. I always looked for happiness in friends, boyfriends or useless things that could not fill me like God could. All I wanted was to feel whole again, and I didnt realize God was the only one who could fill my hole. YOU need God to be first in your life -all of the time, He's the only one who can fill that emptiness and make you whole.

Would you have any words of advice for someone going through a similar situation? God worked in me even after I put so many other things first. God was always there by my side, waiting for me to turn back to Him. God always forgives people, no matter how much wrong you do. He still loves you. Having that reassurance really has helped me.  If you are going through something hard on you, and you dont think you can get through it, my advice would be this: set your heart, your eyes, and your everything to God. He can heal you in ways no one else or no other thing can. He will take care of you and pick you up when you've fallen and put you back on your feet. Pick a daily time to have a quiet time with God. Go to a bible study. God will work in your life when you are hurting - he wants to.  Sometimes we need valleys to bring us to a closer and deeper understanding of Jesus.

Tell us about one of your most favorite times or events in your life.  I think one of the greatest moments in my life was when I TRULY got close to God. When my faith began to grow, I saw everything around me in a different perspective - everything God did and created was so beautiful to me and I could see Him in it. I was able to help other people and give them better advice - because of God working through me and with His help I was able to pick myself up when I fell into a sin or a bad point in my life. To truly see God all around you is a feeling like nothing else.

What are some of your favorite verses?  My favorite bible verse is Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"

Thanks so much Jordan for sharing your story!!  You truly blessed us today.

Check in each Wednesday for a new story!  

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