volunteers

Today I am thankful for the AMAZING volunteers at Fellowship Church.

Today our office had three of the Chapmans (Karen, Ruslin, and Tessa). This incredible people brought us chocolate chip banana bread. They prepped our weekend. They did so much for us today.

Let me be honest the Chapmans aren't a rarity. There are hundreds of families that are dedicated to serving in whatever capacity that would be. The volunteers in my room continually blow me away. I am constantly amazed/inspired/challenged by them.

Thank You Lord for blessing Fellowship Church with such beautiful, giving people.

Nap

Tonight I am thankful for Sunday afternoon naps. I am so grateful to come home after a great morning of services & rest.

abnormally loud

Tonight I am thankful God blessed me with a freakishly loud voice.

While needing to get the studetnts' attention tonight, my mic stopped working. I was able to project my voice loud enough that the ENTIRE AUDITORIUM heard me. In times like this, I am reminded of how God crafted us. He knew I would need to be heard & He made me with a freakishly loud voice. I know it seems silly but it doesn't stop me from being thankful.

flag football

I didn't get to post yesterday as I was dog sitting & didn't have my laptop with me.

I am thankful for the opportunity to play flag football with my church. Today is our last game of the season. It's been great getting to be on a team, meeting new people, not getting seriously injured, and watching my sweetheart be athletic. It's been a great season & I'll definitely miss it...thankfully Barry already has an array of spring sports to choose from. Hooray for the sports ministry at church!

One Week!

In one short week, I get to see my father's side of the family! My precious aunties (amazing cooks & impeccable story tellers), my laid back uncles, my good old boy cousins, my cousins' little ones, and of course, the most precious woman to walk on the planet: my grandma. Chris hasn't met this side of the family (our schedules keep conflicting, someone get sick, etc) so I can't wait to see him interact with them.

Then I get to have Thanksgiving with my Mom, sister, nieces, and nephew! And if I time things just right, I'll be able to make it to Chris' family Thanksgiving as well. Busy, busy, busy but beautiful.

I want to get on the thankfulness train too. I have some friends who have been posting one thing they are thankful for everyday this month. I've really enjoyed reading their posts.

Today I am thankful for my job. I can't believe I get to work at Fellowship Church. I am so blessed to serve God at an amazing church. I am in awe of the leadership God has placed here. The executive pastors are God-ly, wise men who sincerely love God and love others. I am proud of how service is an integral part of everything we do. I love that my volunteers are amazing. I love that my students love God and are welcoming to new students. I love the staff I get to work with--they are hilarious, thoughtful, and sharpen me. Thank You Lord for allowing me for the calling You gave me & for allowing me to serve You!

edits

We are very blessed to be able to produce our children's curriculum in house. One of the perks of this is being able to help edit the rough drafts. I absolutely, positively love doing this! I get out my green fine point sharpie, NLT Bible, and post-it flags and go to town.

The current series we're editing is Entourage. It's all about friendships. The lesson I edited today was about accepting others. Good stuff.

words

Sometimes I think before I speak...other times I speak before I think. I can honestly tell you the thinking before speaking thing is a much better decision.

Rather than extending grace, viewing the situation from multiple angles, and thoughtfully weighing out what my words will do to someone else, I say what comes to mind. I have the need to make my voice heard & make my feelings known. This is foolishness. Yes the time will come that I need to express my feelings but it isn't around the clock.

This week I've been learning a lot: hope, grace, forgiveness, patience, and self-control. I have a feeling that I will continually be learning about these things. It's awful admitting that I don't have it together but it's true.

Always Hope

Forgiveness.

You need it. I need it. God gives it.

Can you get so far away from God that you can’t come back?

The history of Israel is full of ups and downs. After asking God for a king, Israel had two kings but by king number 3, the kingdom separated. Judah & Israel each had their own king. Unfortunately, however, not all of the kings were good. In fact the majority of the kings were bad.

Despite having a God-ly father, one king was one of the wickedest people to ever walk the earth. He sacrificed his son in fire to idols. He restored all of the pagan idols his father had destroyed. He led the people astray. One day though, everything changed. His country was invaded & he was taken captive. During this time, he genuinely repented & God graciously forgave him. Manasseh finished strong.

The story of Manasseh gives us hope. No matter how far away someone is from God, there is always hope. You can read more about him in 2 Kings 20:21-21:18 and 2 Chronicles 33:1-20.

good morning?

Sunny D has take along size bottles of juice. This is the bright spot of my morning.

Now please know I do enjoy mornings. I love the stillness in them. I love the possibilities. I do not, however, love starting them before I should.

This morning I woke up at 2:11. I tried to go back to sleep but at 2:22 I realized it was a futile attempt. So I got up. I put on my shoes & hit the treadmill. I jogged a mile with three pound weights then did five additional minutes with eight pound weights. I did some crunches. I did some leg lifts. I thought this would do the trick.

I got a small glass of water. I went to lie back down and couldn't fall asleep. Around 5:30 I drifted off to sleep for about forty-five minutes. I got back up, took a shower, and started getting ready for the day.

As I was leaving for work, I was able to visit with my neighbor Linda. Not only does this woman have great stories & is hilarious but she's from South Africa. Her accent is BEAUTIFUL. I could listen to her talk all day....which works out nicely as she's a bit of a talker like I am.

I'm a little concerned for today. I am praying I don't snap off someone's head as the day progresses. I don't want to be a grumpy pumpkin today...especially since we have Flavour tonight (our monthly women's service) & I'm one of the greeters.

I'm also a little concerned that I'll just be the queen of random. See my already flimsy filter seems to disappear the more tired I become.

So it looks like one of two options will happen: grumpy pumpkin or random girl. If I send you an odd email, text, or whatever I sincerely apologize.

Romans 8:1

Romans 8 (The Message)

The Solution Is Life on God's Terms

^1-2With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

Romans 8 (NIV)

Life Through the Spirit

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,²because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8 (NLT)

Life in the Spirit

¹ So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. ² And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

Romans 8 (KJV)

¹There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8 (HCSB)

The Life-Giving Spirit

¹ Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, ² because the Spirit's law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

I don't know about you, but I have a tendency to over-analyze a situation. I set extremely high expectations for myself & when I feel like I fail, I think about this repeatedly. I think about how much better things could have been if only i had (insert whatever is applicable to the situation). I don't know exactly why I do this but I do know I need to stop doing it. I need to not allow myself to relive my failures & think through them at every possible angle.

Today on the Stuff Christians Like blog, Jon wrote about this. It was just what I needed to read today. Please click the link & check it out...especially if you have a tendency to rewrite Romans 8:1 for yourself.