NYGO- Almost Here

Last night we had our final meeting before we head out to New York City for our NYGO Mission Trip. Last night was a great night. We spent the first hour and fifteen minutes in a concert of prayer. We prayed for a lot of different things for this trip.

Please continue to pray for our team in these areas: strength, safety, health, calm our fears, that we would come away changed, that some people from NYC would be saved, and unity.

We then had a parents meeting to go over all the details of the trip. As the time gets nearer, I am really excited to see what the Lord is going to do on this trip.

We were asked to lay down an item that might get in our way while on the trip. I love to read the paper first thing in the morning to see what the latest is in the world and sports world. The item I laid down was the newspaper. It is going to be refreshing I think to not look at all the negative going on in the world and just focus on God and what he has in store for us all in New York.

I will continue to update what is going on. Please continue to pray for us.

Rush of Fools

Last night we had a concert by a new group in Christian music, Rush of Fools. I have been to a lot of Christian concerts like David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Michael W. Smith, Jeremy Camp, Third Day, etc. but after listening to Rush of Fools last night, this may be the best live concert I have ever been too!

They have the number 1 hit on the Christian charts right now called "Undo." The words in this song are so powerful. (I will be updating the words later). Their new worship CD is out now and I would encourage you all to pick it up. Rush of Fools is now my favorite Worship CD to listen too. You can check them out at rushoffools.com

Happy Days- Rediscovering the Lost Art of Encouragement

Pastor Dave started a new series titled "Happy Days" and it was something I needed to hear. Isn't it funny when we go through tough times that the Lord always knows what we need to hear?

Here are some notes from yesterday:
Most everyone, at some time or another, goes through seasons of discouragement. Life often throws us curve balls! However, a growing relationship with Christ, living out his word in us, can move us from just surviving these times of discouragement to thriving in the midst of them. It's far more than just the power of positive thinking-it's living out the strangest paradox!

The strangest Paradox: "In all our troubles, my joy knows no bounds." 2 Corinthians 7:4

It's No Secret .... Life can be tough!
*Amidst life's challenges here are some common feelings:
1. I would be better off dead than alive.
2. My heart is broken.
3. There is NO hope.
Jesus himself said, "In this world there will be trouble."

Sometimes....
God changes our circumstances
God changed an impossible person
God opened a closed door

Always.....
God changes us in the midst of our circumstances.
God increases our joy.
God changes our perspective
God gives extra grace for hard times
(2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

After listening to the message I realize that God is bigger than all of my problems. I know that there is nothing too big for God to fix!

Father's Day Activities

Yesterday was Father's Day. My Mom and Dad spent the day with me and we had a great time. My parents met me for church and then we headed to my Dad's favorite new restaurant, "Famous Dave's" in South Bend for lunch. Oh my goodness... I ate so much that I won't need to eat at all this week! After lunch, we headed to the lake for a time of relaxing at the lake. It was about 94 yesterday so the water felt so good!

Father's Day is always a special day. I am so fortunate to have a great Christian father who raised me in a Christian home and who loves me dearly. Yesterday was just a good time to express to him how much I love him and what he means to me. I thank God daily for two wonderful parents who know and love the Lord with all their hearts.

Just knowing how much my earthly father loves me makes me not even comprehend how much my heavenly father loves me!

Death

Death is never an easy thing to deal with. I have been fortunate in my life not to have very many of my relatives die yet. However, all of my grandparents are in their middle 80's to 91 and the time is coming when death will take place.


This past weekend (Saturday), my great Aunt Edna went home to be with the Lord. It was a sad time as I sat by her bedside at the nursing home knowing that there was nothing anyone could do for her. She lived in New Jersey most of her life and moved to Warsaw around ten years ago. She didn't have any family there and my aunt and uncle's and mom wanted to bring her to Indiana where she had family.

I remember a lot of good times with her. She always smiled and had that sweet New Jersey accent. She also always wandered where her pocketbook was at, she was very active in her church, and she loved her family.

Tuesday (tomorrow) will be a tough day as we have her funeral and burial. The good thing is that God says this is a celebration instead of just a sad time. I know my Aunt Edna is in a better place now with God and she will have no suffering in heaven. I am so glad I had the opportunity to spend some time with her. She will be missed, but I know we will see her again in heaven.

Tuesday Happenings

Well, Tuesday was a busy day. A morning workout, relaxing by the pool,

and then off to a double-header softball game. The softball game was interesting. One of my friends broke his nose on a hard ground ball in the 7th inning. It was not good! There was so much blood I about fainted! Other than that, it was a pretty good night. I hit a homer and had several extra base hits.

My friends made it to Texas, that was an answer to prayer!

Big day today: Workout, relax, work.

New Beginning

Tonight I will spend my first night at my new family's house. I am excited about spending some time with my five new brothers and one sister. This afternoon we had a good time swimming and playing games in the pool. I am sure that there will be a lot of that this summer! I just got smoked in Madden 07...I better start practicing more because I don't want to get beat every game this summer (how embarrassing)

I am looking forward to a good night sleep. This has been a long/hard day, but I know God will continue to work in my life. Tomorrow is another day to live for him. We must realize that life is short and we need to take each day like it could be our last.

One of the Hardest Days Of My Life

Today was something I have been dreading for like 2 months now. My best friends that I have been close to for ten years left for Texas tonight. I knew that this would be a difficult day for me and for my friends, but I didn't realize how much until we said our final goodbyes. The difficult thing about this was that my two nephews were also taken this so hard and then I totally lost it.

Today has to be one of the saddest days of my life, but I know that this won't be the last time I see them again. Don't get me wrong, it won't be the same. I have spent some very valuable time with them over the past ten years. They have been with me through the good and the bad times of my life.

I have to just realize that what they are doing is what God has called them to do. I can't be selfish in saying I want them to stay. Sure, I would love for them to still be here, but I know they are going to be okay in Texas. My prayer is that they will settle in and meet some new people and truly enjoy their new life. They will be missed....but God will bring us back together one day.

Bring On Summer

I am sitting here just thinking about how time really flies by, especially as you get older. Yesterday marked the end of my 10th year of teaching already! I can't believe it: 10 YEARS! I can remember my first year of teaching at Silver Lake Elementary like it was just yesterday. Being a teacher is a very rewarding job, and not because you "supposedly" get a couple months off! What is so cool is when you have former students who come back to visit, send you notes, invite you to their activities, use you as a reference, and just let you know that you are appreciated!

Yesterday was our Awards Day and then a little end of the year party. One of my students then had a pool party last night which was a lot of fun. It was overall a good day. I am now officially tired, but life continues to go on.

I am now focusing in on my summer plans. I am really excited about what God is going to do this summer.

Tonight and Saturday I have my NYGO retreat. I am really pumped about this. We leave for New York City on June 29 for a mission trip. I am so excited to see how God is going to use all of us. Summer also means another awesome week of Summer Camp in July. Other items on the summer agenda: basketball tutoring, working a little, plenty of softball games, pool parties, concerts, relaxing.. and who knows what else.

End of School Year

The end of the school year is always interesting. There is so much to do, so many activities that go on. One of the things my students look forward to each year is Field Day. Well, today was suppose to be ours. This morning it was raining and we decided to postpone the event until tomorrow. To say the least, the students came into school pretty bummed!

Since I had to adjust my schedule, that is part of being a teacher, we decided to do our State Report Switches today. It turned out to be good. I will have to say, not only are the students excited for Field Day tomorrow, but so am I!

I am going to pray extra hard tonight for no rain :)

LOVE WINS

For the past four weeks, NMC has been doing a series titled "Love Wins." This series has really been eye opening for me.

Today's title was "Obstacles." Pastor Chris Knight brought the message this morning and it really hit home.

The main passage was Philippians 3:12-16
"Love Wins" is all about allowing our lives to impact other for the sake of the Kingdom. As we dig deeper into this, we must consider what to do with the obstacles that stand in the way of us reaching our fullest potential.

We must EXPECT obstacles in our life! (Philippians 3:14)
OBSTACLE #1: TIME (Luke 9:57-62)
*I was really challenged with this one. What are my priorities? Am I doing what is most important in life??
OBSTACLE #2: FEAR OF....
FAILURE (John 18:15-18, 25-27; Acts 2: 14-41)
BEING HURT AGAIN/BAD EXPERIENCES (Phillipians 3:13)
SIZE OF THE TASK (Exodus 3-4)
OBSTACLE #3: AM I QUALIFIED?

All of these really hit me. Obstacle #2 really stuck out. I am afraid of being hurt again by others a lot. I am reminded daily that God will never leave me nor forsake me. Humans are going to let us down, but our Heavenly Father never will! I need to stand on that promise.

We need to think about this question today: The obstacle, that with God's help, I need to rise above is ????????