Monday, December 28, 2009

Children's Ministry

God used volunteers in the children's ministry at my church to save my life. Because these dedicated ladies showed me God's love, I am not a statistic today. I am extremely passionate about my job and am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to show the next generation God's love. Today my boss, Pastor Mike, posted a blog that I want to share; it is just another reason why I am in children's ministry.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Chris Rocks Christmas

Merry Christmas! I hope you are all cozy, with loved ones, and enjoying many blessings. All 6 Christmas Experiences went beautiful at church! :-) Yesterday we were blessed with a beautiful blanket of snow. It made me so happy to see how many people braved the elements to come to church.

Today is our third edition of Chris Rocks Friday. What better time than now to tell you why he rocks Christmas. For the past couple of weeks he has made it his mission to make sure I had no clue about Christmas presents. No joke. He did ask for a list but I had no idea if he opted to get me anything from the list. He wouldn't even tell me if he went shopping for me.

Let me be honest, I tried my best to find out what he had bought for me for Christmas...but this guy wouldn't budge. Impressive but not helpful for my situation. And truth be told, now after opening gifts, he still won't tell me when he went shopping.

Chris did an excellent job of purchasing gifts--I feel spoiled. :-) One of the best gifts he gave me today was lovingly filling my tires with air in the freezing cold. Yep. This guy aired up my tires in the slushy cold so we would be safe on our 200 mile trip up to my Mom's house. I love him!

Merry Christmas!


Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Thank you God for laying your glory by so that we could be saved!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Christmas at Fellowship Church

We are half way through with our Christmas Experiences for 2009. WOW. It has been absolutely amazing! I attended Tuesday night's experience and loved it so much! Tomorrow services are at 2, 4, and 6. If you're in dfw, come by because you won't want to miss it!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Jackie

Please pray for my mentor Jackie. She made a tremendous impact on my life and I can't imagine how different I would be if not for her love and guidance. She has stage 4 pancreatic cancer & is in Seoul seeking treatment. According to the doctors, she only has 6 months to live but we know that with God all things are possible. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

You can follow her journey here.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Chris Rocks Friday part 2

Yep it's time for the second installment of why Chris rocks!

Chris is one of the most patient people I have ever met in my entire life. Now the majority of you don't know the story of us becoming a couple, so let me just throw this out there: I pushed him away every chance I received. I played the hard to get card so well, it should have been renamed the virtually impossible to obtain card. No joke. Yet no matter what I threw at him, he kept pursuing. He was patient as I pushed. He pursued God and me. I need to take the time to type out the story for you guys because then you'll see even more of how wonderfully patient he is.

The patience didn't stop after we started dating. If it's possible he became more patient as he helped me work through my issues (i had no idea i had such trust issues!). Today when I become impatient in traffic or at a situation, he very calmly reminds me that it's not a race. He's so patient & I'm incredibly thankful.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

rearrange

Today we rearranged our office...this is the second time in the last 3 months. I think this new arrangement will stick around a little longer. We needed to reorganize since we lost Chris. I no longer work in the same office as my darling. He now works as a video editor for the curriculum we produce. I know he's going to learn so much & I'm so excited about the huge impact he gets to have! I will, however, miss being in the same office with him and having the same day off.

With the new arrangement, my desk is in the center of the area and right next to the kitchen area. This means my friends I have the most social seat in the office! YAY! :-)

Also I cleared out some clutter....it pains me to admit it but I'm a pack rat. I'm trying to get better but old habits die hard. Tomorrow I will take this clear it out mentality to my closet. Since I moved in (about 6 months ago) my closet has been on my to do list. I have items to shred. Tomorrow is the day...after working out, a hair cut, getting the last of Chris' gifts, and finishing wrapping gifts....so yeah, we'll see about that.

Random Side Note: While out on a purchasing run for Christmas service supplies, I stopped by Sonic. The nice lady in the drive through & I have been building a fun relationship. She asked me how I'd been since I hadn't stopped by recently. So thanks happy hour for allowing a silly connection to build. I plan on stopping by again on Monday to invite her to church...and I may or may not have a gift for her.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

glimpse into the future?

I have a tendency to be hyper competitive at times...Chris has a tendency to be super laid back during just about all times. I was reminded of this when I watched this...

Yes my friends, this may end up being a glimpse into our future...but hopefully I'll have better hair.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Chris Rocks Friday

So my buddy is participating in My Husband Rocks Friday which I think is a ton of fun! Today she posted about how wonderful of a dad her husband is to their precious little one. It made me smile & I thought, "it's a shame Chris & I aren't married so I could do this!" But since I love him and slipped up by calling his father 'Dad' the other day rather than his name (Daryl), I feel like it's ok if I bend the rules and do this. This is from church camp this July. He's Donkey Kong. Yep. In Texas heat in July & August my Chris was Donkey Kong. Not only did he wear a full on gorilla suit but he did physical activities in it to give the kids a 'wow' factor. See Chris rocks because he will do whatever it takes to ensure that kids know God's love & love church. Chris doesn't care about looking ridiculous, spending hours on making an incredible set, or being pushed to the edge physically (seriously this guy did a tri-triathlon in the costume on the last day of camp). Chris does care about children being passionate about God. Chris rocks!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

crafty

Let me just be real honest: I'm not, nor have I ever been good at crafts. Even in my vbs days, my projects never quite had that right sand art look. As an adult this lack of crafty skill has multiplied. I don't know how it's possible but somehow I'm even worse at crafts now than I was at 7.

For my students (who will be here for all of our 6 Christmas experiences), I like to have a bit of a party. I teach the k-5th grade students of staff and volunteers who are here for multiple services (they go to a service and attend my room for one). Each week we do a supplemental lesson based on what they are learning in children's worship. I love being the one who gets to show them another Bible story about whatever topic they're learning.

During Christmas though we don't so much do that. It's a celebration in my room! We make presents (hence the crafts) for them to give to family members/friends. We sing Christmas carols. We talk about why this is such a great time of year & how we can share that with others. It's something I look forward to & hopefully my students do too.

However, as mentioned in the top paragraph, I'm not crafty. I am resourceful though. I've found the jackpot of home made holiday crafts for my students. Thank you Disney for providing these easy, adorable crafts that someone like me can make. YAY!

I'm looking forward to planning out all of our crafts, carols, and just getting to celebrate what Christ has done with my students. This really is the greatest time of year!