saturday

Tomorrow after our first official flag football game of the season, I will rush to Fort Worth to share a pizza & pack some boxes. I get to see another set of beautiful friends head out on a great adventure. Brandon, Cindy, & little Corban will be moving to Europe to work with refugees. Wow. I can't wait to see them! I can't wait to make up ridiculous moving day songs & give baby Corban the greatest musical tribute he's ever experienced in his short life. :-) Don't you wish I could help you move?

Be Funky

befunky.com allows you to upload photos & apply different effects for free. :-)

wordy word words...

I sometimes find it difficult to effectively communicate my passion for my job through typed words. I absolutely, positively love my job.

Currently we're changing the description of my room. As you know, we've already changed the look of it (and I promise pictures will come soon!!!). I'm working on a write up of what I want to let the other departments know about the change. I want them to know my room isn't just the room where kids go when they're here for more than one service or the video game room. No. No. No. My room is so much more than that.

First I believe I have some of the most incredible volunteers of all time. If you could meet these people, you would be blown away by their gentleness, beautiful hearts, and their willingness to do whatever it takes to make sure our students know about God. These people will challenge you to be more simply by being who they are. It's remarkable.

Second the students in my room are so encouraging. These kids (kindergarten through fifth graders) desire to serve God and serve others. Do you realize how much of a rarity that is? These students also devour Bible stories. They learn them, share them, and ask insightful questions. I am blown away by my students.

My challenge is to communicate how our room is a place for students to be empowered, equipped, and encouraged to live out the lives God has for them. How do I put this into words to show that by parents volunteering (thus allowing their students to be here for more than one service & in my room), their children benefit too? Whenever I talk to volunteer tours, I just let it flow...when you have only a certain amount of space for type, how do you communicate the same passion?

Any and all suggestions are welcome.

On an unrelated note: make sure to check out Nightline tomorrow (Thursday, September 24th, 10:35 cst) to see the debate. This is the kick off of their 10 commandments series. Pastor Ed & Jonathan Daugherty debate the implications of adultery with Noel Bidderman (creator of Ashley Madison site that allows people to discretely have affairs) & Jenny Block (author). Trust me, you want to tivo this.

scrimmage

I love flag football. I love it so incredibly much that this season is going to be much, much, much too short. :-) I was able to play the entire game & I didn't feel crazy exhausted or anything. I got a couple of 'tackles' & even got to carry the ball a few times. Oh dear goodness--I loved it! Chris had a great time too. I just emailed out my schedule to his family so maybe they can catch a game sometime. Look for more football posts to come my friends.

football

In about two hours, Chris & I will participate in our first flag football game of the season. The last time I played football was about five years ago. I can't tell you the last time I went for a run so I'm feeling a little nervous for today. Since it's co-ed church league every third play a girl has to touch the ball. The captain, Byron, only knows me out of the group of girls. I'm really hoping he doesn't decide to give me the ball a lot. I would HATE to embarrass Chris...and myself.

I'm excited and nervous! I think that's what caused me to wake up before 7 this morning.

the debate

Over 4,000 people were in attendance for the debate last night. WOW. Thank you so much for praying for Pastor Ed & passing information about the debate on to others.

I didn't get to watch the debate since we had children's services for those in attendance. I was with the 4 & 5 graders and we had a jolly good time. I can't wait to watch the debate--parents kept telling me just how amazing it was.

It was great to read/watch the news covering the debate too. So if you didn't see the debate last night, it will air on Thursday, September 24. You won't want to miss it!

Affairs, Adultery, Ashley Madison

An affair sent my family into overdrive when I was ten years old. Don't get me wrong, things had been rocky prior to the revelation of my father having an affair with his secretary, but that's when things really shattered. This led to my parents divorcing, my mother turning into an angry/bitter/mean version of herself, my father eventually going to jail, and my mom having to work two jobs to support my sister and me. I spent more time below the poverty line than I did above it. I spent more time being angry than happy. I was a wreck but thankfully God was with me through it all. He strategically placed people in my path who loved me. This made all of the difference in the world. Healing occurred. My faith strengthened. I learned no matter what, I would always have God.

My story is no different than thousands of others. In my small town, it was more of a rarity to meet another student with married parents...married to their first spouse.

Tomorrow night (Thursday, September 17), my pastor gets to debate AGAINST adultery. Nightline will be at Fellowship Church filming a debate on if adultery is wrong. Ashley Madison is a social networking site that helps people discretely have affairs. The CEO of Ashley Madison will try to convince the viewers of Nightline (and those in attendance for the debate) that adultery is a good thing.

If you're in DFW, I invite you to come & watch the debate. It starts at 6:30 pm (I'd try to arrive by 6:15 at the latest). We will have children's services for birth through fifth grade. Trust me we'll have a fantastic evening planned for the children.

You can get more details here.

finale

I am not quite sure why I've been so spoiled this birthday but i'm going to roll with it. I don't know if it's due to the fact my birthday was 9/9/9 and I turned 27 (9 + 9 + 9 = 27) or just because Chris decided to continue his reign of awesome.

Let's recap shall we?

Wednesday: Chris bring flowers (he arranged them himself--complete with 9 roses in the bouquet) & spa gift. The entire office goes out for birthday lunch at 7 Salsas. We have afternoon cookie cake (with dinosaur frosting--you have to admit the genius of that). After work Chris buys me the yellow shoes I wanted. Great day.

Thursday: Chris takes me to celebrate my birthday at the Nashar. I get to see some Matisse up close and personal. Amazing! Then dinner at the cheesecake factory...such a great choice.

Friday: I get my massage/manicure/pedicure. Can I just endorse massages for a minute? Wow. It was incredible! Then off to Chris' to watch Star Wars prequel movie marathon. You may be curious as to why I opted for Star Wars prequel rather than Legally Blond. That's a great thing to wonder. The guys in the office had talked a bit about just the awkwardness/greatness that surrounds the prequels. Since I hadn't watched it in a while, I thought it was time for a refresher.

It was a great 3 day celebration. Very unexpected....very wonderful.

so far, so awesome!

This is such an amazing day!!!! It is indeed dino-mite!!!

27

Like New Years, birthdays have a tendency to lend themselves to reflection.

If you had asked me where I would be twenty years ago, I most likely would have responded with this, ‘I will have my own tv show. I will sing & tell jokes that will make people happy. ‘

Fifteen years ago would have had a response like this, ‘I will be married to a very handsome man. I will be housewife with two kids and a maid.’

If you had asked me where I would be ten years ago, I would have given you this answer: ‘At 27, I’ll be working towards a doctorate in literature at Duke University. I will be either engaged or married to a minister. We probably will be applying to do missions in Malawi, Africa.’ That’s a pretty good plan.

If you had asked me that question five years ago, ‘I will be married and on the mission field or at a church plant. We’ll help those who have been deceived & show them the Truth. I’ll lead a Bible study in our home and do mostly community outreach.’

Now here I am at one of the largest churches in the United States, running a discipleship program for kindergarten through fifth grade students. I get the opportunity to show kids God’s love & help kids love church. I am able to write my own lessons. I have a wonderful boyfriend who loves me more than I thought possible (and trust me it’s definitely reciprocated).

I never would have guessed that God would have me in the Bible belt at a megachurch…ever. Yet here I am. It’s amazing to think that God had this for me all along—this is my mission field. I get to help train children in God’s way so they can impact multiple generations.

It’s official: I’m now in my late 20s. I don’t know exactly what this means except that I get to live a little longer & hopefully have some more adventures.

The Traveling Man

Chris' family is amazing! Seriously talented, humble, wonderful people comprise his family. Tonight was the grand reveal for his uncle Brandon 3 sculptures in Deep Ellum (in Dallas) called The Traveling Man.

It started in Fair Park at the African American Museum. We were given an opportunity to check out the George Washington Carver exhibit (not allowed to take pics) on loan from Chicago before hopping on the brand new green line of Dart (officially opens September 14).

At each stop, we were able to see the station art & hear from the artist. It was really cool & something you'll want to check out the next time you're taking the Dart. The final stop of the night was the Deep Ellum station. The station artist spoke then it was Brandon's turn.

He explained the vision behind it & also credited the other artists (including Brad Oldham standing next to Brandon). Then we went exploring.
While we were exploring, I might have felt just a tad ummm...wanna be modelish? Anyway around each of the three sculptures are these amazing birds which double as chairs.

This is the Traveling Man Awakening. You can lounge on his head which is pretty neat & makes for an interesting picture...

This is the Traveling Main: Waiting on a Train. He's propping himself up with a piece from the original tunnel that was the gateway into Deep Ellum. It is a great addition to the piece--you can also sit on the tunnel portion (proudly displaying 1930, the year it was built).
This is the Traveling Man Walking Tall. He is directly across from the Deep Ellum dart station. If you notice, 6'4" Chris is standing in front of his left leg. The Traveling Man stands 38' tall. It is incredible.

While Chris & I were exploring, a couple was taking wedding pictures in front of the Waiting on a Train. I now want to take every guest I have & pose them in front of the Traveling Man. I think he's so incredibly amazing!