Life in a blog

Well. I could say a lot has happen in the last several months. 1. Because that is the absolute truth, and would be the understatement of the year.  A LOT has happen. 2.  It has been 7 freaking months since I posted….so it is only natural for a lot to happen.

So I won’t even begin to explain everything that has happen. That would be crazy. But I will let you in on what God has been teaching me. Let me break it down for you….the 3 ½ C’s I have learned. This is pretty honest and vulnerable for me FYI. Also, I started this blog forever ago; I have just kept adding and adding to it.

Christ:

First and foremost, I have learned a lot about Christ. I have learned that he knows me, and I trust that even when I don’t understand. He is in control of my life, and I give all my worries to Him. I am thankful for that; Lord knows I don’t want to carry that burden. I have said it before, and will probably continue to say it. I am saddened by those who do not know the hope that is found in Christ. When life is hard, how do they survive? How do they do it? My guess is they don’t. I say that because my hope and faith in Christ has been necessary for my inner being to survive. Christ has remained by my side through it all, and me by his. Yes, it has been difficult; I would be lying if I said I didn’t question why, yell, scream or be angry with him. That is the beauty of Christ, he is real, he is hope, he is the ultimate reason we breathe on a daily basis. I am overwhelmed by His presence. He is faithful, he is glorious, he is the ultimate healer, he is Jesus and my hope is in him. All of my love and affection belong to Him. He has paid the highest price, he has proven his great love for us and I will proclaim my love for him. I pray that I make that a reality.

Church:

I have some opinions about the church. Most of the time I love, love the church, the beauty it can bring is wonderful. But sometimes, sometimes I am frustrated with the church and how it can be corrupt, when it is created to be so good. I don’t mean this in a negative way, in ministry it is in your face, real, and the fluff goes out the window, we become very aware that we are human. Over the last couple months, my love for the church has become strong. My love for the church has grown. On May 22^nd Joplin, the town in which I live, was hit by an EF5 Tornado. This was devastating, something I wish no one will ever experience. But, on May 23^rd, the church was leading the way. The church was stronger than ever. In the midst of turmoil of the trials of the world they set aside their differences and became united by one name, Christ. For that, I am proud of the church. Not only I have experienced the church through Mother Nature ripping through a town, I have experienced the church love on my family and myself personally. I was involved in a hit and run recently, my car was totaled and the other car nowhere to be seen. I was so angry, I felt helpless and a total victim. But thankful, I was unharmed-Besides it was just a car. Few weeks went by and a church, a church that I have no affiliation with gave me money to put towards a car. What? That is the church being the church. Or when the church shows up to support my brother Jonathan at a benefit. Over 250+ people in attendance. God knew that’s what he needed, He was so encouraged to see people he had never met, people stopping and praying with him, people handing him 20, 50 bucks. The church is legit. The church isn’t a building it is a community of brothers and sister willing to love you through it all. Sometimes God throws me curve balls-lately it has felt like a lot. Sometimes all I do is I laugh. I laugh, because no matter how hard, how crappy, how beautiful, how messy, how ridiculous it is, God has provided the church and my community to be a presence in my life….which brings me to my next C.

Community:

I love community. My community has changed so much over the years, from high school to church friends to college and now outside of college. Community for me has had its up and downs. Sometimes I have felt completely alone; other times loved and surrounded by so many friends. My community today has been bonded by something that not many people with ever go through together. My community has taken a stand next to me and has not let me go. I am thankful for the prayer, the cards, the emails, the money, the tears, and the laughter that they have shared with me. In the midst of what some would call devastation, my hope is growing. The stand my community is taking, the hope they are spreading, and the healing they are giving, I am forever grateful to the Father who has shown me His love through them. Hearts are joining together to fight, to survive, and to heal. Through the arms of prayer, I have felt Jesus. By the shedding of tears, I have come to know this community on a more personal level. In the midst of volunteering, praying with one another, serving together, I am more than ever proud of my community.

Coffee:

Don’t laugh. This is a serious one, and I only counted it as a half. Because of the craziness the last few months, the number of sleepless night, the number of overnight stays with Jonathan in the hospital. Coffee is my best friend. Everyone needs to get on the coffee train, because Lord knows when you need strength, God is there and coffee is his sidekick. And for that I am thankful, for that I am proud of my coffee addiction.

 So thanks friends, you could never imagine what it means to me. I could never repay you but I am forever, truly grateful. 

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." -Romans 8:28 (NLT)

Africa

Today I will board a plane and head Here, to this lovely country.

I will have the chance to work with this splendid organization.

And possibly do this....ekk.

Peace out America, Hello Africa.

 I am ready to learn from the missionaries, my wise friend Pat, the people of Zambia, the culture and the land.  I am ready to be a tool and serve in any way possible. I am excited for the things God is doing there, and to be a tiny, tiny part of it.

Thank you for your prayers as we journey.

He is in control

To say the least, this last month has been crazy.  

Actually there are several words I would use to describe this last month, but for every emotion the opposite feeling was to follow. There were scary times followed by peaceful moments. Mountain high experiences to valley lows, joyous experiences to sorrow, emotional and spiritual lows to an overwhelming presence of the Lord. Happy to sad, crying to laughter and the list goes on and on…

When the doctors told Jonathan, my 19 year old little brother that all signs point to Leukemia, I was scared, sad for Jonathan, angry, emotional etc. As Jonathan lay in the hospital bed, our hands held tight, tears of sadness streaming, heart monitors beeping in the background we did the only thing we could do. We prayed. We gave it to God, and that is when we knew. I wish I could describe the peace that I felt after our prayer. It is something that Jonathan and I will forever hold dear to our hearts. We knew in that moment, God had this and was in complete control. 

Throughout the Bible the word Peace is used in almost 250 verses. These are several verses that have been dear to my heart these last few weeks.

Romans 5

 ¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Romans 15:13 

 ¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 4:6-7

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I have felt the peace of the Lord that scripture talks about, but I have also felt conviction, there are so many people that do not have this Hope. My dear friend Brittany and I were talking about the hope we have in Christ. She stated what we would do if we didn’t have that Hope in Jesus? There is so many people who are hopeless, who do not have the hope and peace we have in Jesus. My heart breaks for those who have not heard the gospel. I long for them to know the love that Christ has for them. How no matter what life brings you, you are a child of God. Through Him and only Him can you experience eternal life. 

I am not really sure the best way to close this. Actually I am not sure this makes any sense, my brain feels as though it is spinning. This has been a whirlwind the last couple of weeks. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday other times it feels like it has been a year. Jonathan’s courage, attitude, strength, and faith are something that amazes me daily; I pray that he knows how strong he has been. I pray through his testimony others may know the Hope and Peace that is only found in Jesus. 

Goodbye perfect vision, hello glasses.

Confession: 

I haven't been to the eye doctor in years. Yes. I know shame, shame. I am pretty sure you are suppose to go every 3 years give or take.  Needless to say, don't follow my rebellious ways...I have my reasons. Basically I am terrified of people touching my eyes, watching other people touch their eyes, something going in my eye... you know normal stuff. Plus, I had a horrible experience the last time I went to the eye doctor...Blah Blah Blah, long story.

So it's been awhile. (5ish years)

Well folks, I went and turns out my eyes are not well. Not bad, but not good. So I got glasses. bah-hum-bug. Honestly, they aren't awful...But just an adjustment.

For all of you who have glasses, you should check out this awesome website. www.zennioptical.com Fun, stylish, affordable glasses. I ordered two pairs for 27.95 that includes shipping. Woot! Here they are....

The black pair.... 

and the brown pair...

   Side note--- Check out the couch in the background of this pic. My new roomie, Phoebe and I snagged it from a friend/dumpster...another long story.

So, yep. Glasses. Neat...

Farewell dear readers.

Entertainment Stand to TV Stand

When ever my mother comes to visit me down here in Joplin, I make a "mommy-to-do-list. It is so nice to get a lot of things accomplished when she is here. But the reality is I do this for her. Admit it Mom-You would be so bored with out my lists. You are welcome! 

My mother was here a couple weeks ago. And we worked on this little project. For all those with a old school entertainment stand, this project is so easy and cheap. 

This is what it looked like at Christmas 2 years ago. Because this was a cheap entertainment stand, my mom and Kyle were able to take it apart in a billion pieces. 

We had to saw off to long pieces on the edges. Thanks to my friend Tom, it was super easy. Then we went to Lowes to pick up some paint and primer. I had a gift card so the total came out to be $16.00. 

I painted, and painted, and painted. Due to how cold it was outside that paint seemed to take forever to dry. But once it was dry.... 

Wah-Lah!

Yeah, for the finish project-Thanks Mom!

Happy Creating!

2010 woot!

 

I know that it is 2011, but technically it isn't even the first week  I mean month, so I can get away with this right? 2010 has been a great year.  What better way to do that then with pictures.

Over the last 3 years, Kyle and I have been able to bring in the New Year together along with some of our good friends Luke and Lauren Lowe. This is us at Baileys Chocolate Bar in St. Louis. It is quite the delicious place to eat/drink and a great atmosphere.  I would recommend it for those of you near the great area of St. Louis.

This was a exciting one for me. I bought a new camera finally. My old one had seen its day, so I saved up and got this little number. It suites me for now, maybe I will upgrade later after some practice.

February is a busy time for Kyle and I. We celebrated our 3rd year together as well as Valentines day. I tried to get a little creative/save money this past year. This is what I came up with. A candy bouquet  full of his favorite candy and a last name picture frame, taken with my new camera!

Dakota and I rocking it out in Times Square. 

New York City. The college I attended offers a church planting class in NYC. I would absolutely recommend it for all you students still attending OCC. We were able to meet men and women doing amazing ministry in the big city. It was incredible to learn and gain wisdom from them.
These are my good friends Dakota and Charlie (not pictured Greg Hull). What a weekend. I don't know if I have ever laughed so hard. 

For those of you who don't know, I love John Mayer. And yes, I went to his concert. A-MA-ZING! Some of my best friends and I went to Kansas City for his concert. We ate at a Dives, Diners and Drive In called Grinders. So delicious. What is with me a food?

In March I ventured to the Northwest for the first time. I visited the great area of Tacoma/Seattle Washington. What a beautiful place. A group from Indiana came to serve alongside a awesome ministry called Network Tacoma. This is the group on one of the missionaries houseboat. Yeah, he lives on a boat in Washington. Pretty cool. This week we worked on several low income apartment units, fixing them up so that new tenants could move in.

My dear friend Julie was awesome enough to drive up and see me in Seattle after the group left. Spent a few days there and then venture down to Portland. It was pretty much the best time ever. We ate a lot, relaxed a lot and talked a ton. The doughnut picture is in Portland at a swell place call Voo-doo doughnut. Yum. Yum. Yum.  

I am so proud of Kyle. He is a great youth minister, and it has been awesome to see him work with our students. This is one of our girls Twyla being baptized by Kyle. We are so proud of her! 

  I graduated. Still weird. We have gone over this...moving on. 

This summer I had to the privilege of leading a team to Cambodia, a place that is very dear and near to my heart. These two girls mean so much to me. They are both doing tremendous ministry for Christ. Man, I have some great friends.

Ankor Wat entrance. I really like this little artsy picture...I promise, its not me. Just a lucky shot. 

For those of you who don’t already know, I love our youth group.  Kyle and I feel truly blessed to share life with these students of Afton, Oklahoma. God placed us there almost 3 years ago, and we thank God all the time that he opened the doors for us to be there. I love youth ministry more than I ever thought I would. We have learned a lot over the years here. What it is like to serve at a small rural church. How we work in ministry together. How to love these kids and guide them through life. It has been a journey, one that I cherish every day. This past June we took our students to Michigan MOVE. Here we are enjoying our free day on the beach…yeah, in Michigan! Fantastic. I spent most of the day sleeping on the beach do to my little parasite friend I picked up in Cambodia days previously that resided in my stomach. Don’t worry I got rid of him, with time.

Seattle/Tacoma has become one of my favorite trips. I have had the privilege to build a relationship with people here and to serve alongside them. The team over the summer was from Georgetown Ohio (insert shout out!). Man they kicked butt. It was truly a blessing to work with them. Look at all the cool stuff they did.

I was able to travel down to Oregon after Seattle with my good friend Levi. We road tripped down to see Julie and Jared in Medford! God is good and has provided me several times to see Julie, considering we live many hours and many miles apart. While I was there we saw The Swell Season, which was so good. You may know this band from the movie “Once”. Both of which I recommend. Also while I was there, Levi got a tattoo and me, well I re-pierced my nose. Yeah, were pretty tough. Pssh.

For my graduation gift, Kyle bought us Cubs vs. CARDINALS tickets. Even though we are on opposing sides, don’t we look cute? We had a blast!

Roommate date night, always a good time! The three of us lived together for 21/2 years. So many memories at Club Norman. We know how to go out in style!

This is my brother Bobby. Yes, I look short compared to him, that’s because I am. He is 7 ft. Impressive. Well, he got married! I am extremely proud of him. He has been through a lot, but perseveres through it all. I couldn’t be more proud of the man he has become. He and his adorable wifey were married in September. I had the privilege of being a sister and a bridesmaid. I wish them the best in life!

Road trips are something that I love. Especially when it’s with some of my best friends. Lauren, Liss and I headed out to Kentucky to see some incredible people who I admire very much, the Walker family.

This year Afton did really well. We are proud of our boys! You can't tell, but we are freezing in this picture! Yeah for Friday nights! 

Woot! Woot! MJ got married. Doesn't she look ravishing? Her wedding was a blast,  it was so Melissa. 

My sweet, sweet Theara. A beautiful girl inside and out. She is one of the most amazing, faithful women I have ever met. She came to the USA for the first time. It was so fun to spend time with her. I miss this girl so, so much. 

Oh Christmas. I love the holidays. Seriously…Birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas bring it on! I am a sucker for traditions. Maybe I will blog about some of my favorite traditions, because that could be a whole blog in itself. I love making a big deal about holidays…ask Kyle he probably hates how much I love them, but he is a good sport nonetheless. Christmas is a crazy time, especially on my mother’s side. Try cramming 40 people into a small house. We do this every year. Here in this picture my brothers and his sweet girlfriend Anna are taking a break from the chaos happening downstairs. What a funny looking word...chaos. Anyways. I love my family. As CRAZY as they are…and I mean nuts. I love them, and I am proud to claim them!

Thus the last picture of 2010. Ending 2010 and starting 2011 on a fantabulous road-trip with some of my best friends.I will try and make a post of its own about our adventure to Utah. Because it was epic, and it deserves its own post. I would say 2010 was a win.