I love Fall. It's a season full of new beginnings. It gets colder and the leaves change colors. I can finally where my turtleneck sweaters! When I was in school, it meant new clothes and new notebooks, but now I'm excited for new students moving through the grades in our youth group and for new programs starting up. I am really looking forward to seeing what new lessons God has in store for us.
Josh and I are beginning fall with busyness. Youth group is starting off great-we've had two new students join our group! We are up to 16 students now in our high-school group. We are enjoying the group and praying for more students to join. Hopefully, as the students gain more friends in this school year our group will grow accordingly. Middle school youth group will be on Wednesday evenings. We have about 10 students in that group...but only one boy, so we're praying that as the group grows more boys will come! We are also looking forward to See You at the Pole--National Day of Prayer on September 27th. We're hoping to join our youth group with a few others that night for a city wide event.
We hope that you will join our prayers for each student, that God will grow them in the grace and knowledge of Himself.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Labor Day
Josh and I had a wonderful Labor Day. We went up to see my parents; Amy and Dave came up as well. I love it when everyone can be together. We had so much fun hanging out and playing games. We went to see "Invincible" also, which was really good. Talk, game, movie...enjoying the simple stuff.
In a world where the definition of "family" has either been changed or attacked, it is so refreshing to go and spend an afternoon hanging out and genuinely enjoying mine. My parents still love and take care of each other, setting such an example to us kids. They're still serving God. Amy and I still have fun being sisters. We married such godly men who fit into most of our familial quirks! And it's also really nice when parents are the type of people you'd choose to be friends with...even if they were not biologically connected with you.
It was a good day.
In a world where the definition of "family" has either been changed or attacked, it is so refreshing to go and spend an afternoon hanging out and genuinely enjoying mine. My parents still love and take care of each other, setting such an example to us kids. They're still serving God. Amy and I still have fun being sisters. We married such godly men who fit into most of our familial quirks! And it's also really nice when parents are the type of people you'd choose to be friends with...even if they were not biologically connected with you.
It was a good day.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." --Anonymous
I think this gives us a lesson on contentment...live in the moment God has placed us in, not in the moment we decided that our human mind desired. God's ways are higher than ours. If we miss today, longing for tomorrow, that tomorrow will be a "today" that we will also miss. Blessings, as we learn this lesson together.
I think this gives us a lesson on contentment...live in the moment God has placed us in, not in the moment we decided that our human mind desired. God's ways are higher than ours. If we miss today, longing for tomorrow, that tomorrow will be a "today" that we will also miss. Blessings, as we learn this lesson together.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Vacation 101
As Josh and I are still in the "newly married" phase of our life, vacation can be fairly humorous with us. We were originally planning to depart on our adventure to Honeyman State Park on Sunday afternoon, but on Saturday morning Josh decided that he would like to leave that afternoon instead. So following three days of my helping with the coordination for a wedding at our church that took place on Saturday morning/afternoon we arrived home, only to attempt to leave for camping in 45 minutes. Yes, women understand that this is not really possible.
I come from a family that takes time to organize and be really ready for vacation...oh, and camping was not in our vacation vocabulary! Everything is packed with care and the house is left spotless. It was a tad stressful for me to pack, clean, and load a camper (with 5 days of supplies, including meals) in that little of time. Josh comes from a family where camping is a regular activity and he is used to his knowledgeable mom getting stuff ready! Josh and I had some good laughs as we ran a round trying to get it all done. You see, we had to leave early because our first night was not booked at any campsite because we were going to leave the next day originally. We still needed to get a campsite...on a weekend!
With a camper graciously shared with us by Josh's parents, we set off on our adventure. We use the word "adventure" when we're not exactly sure what lies ahead!
I had to adjust as we ended up spending the first night "dry camping." A phrase I learned means "camping in your camper in a parking lot next to other campers...who also did not have a campsite." Though it took a little imagination, it was still fun. Our dear friends Brian and Sjana MacSwan came to hang out the next day...the boys went surfing and the girls went shopping. It was a lot of fun to see them.
Josh and I arrived at our real destination, having a wonderful few days enjoying time alone. He was able to surf, and we also caught a crab I affectionately named Oscar. Josh ended up eating him with the pasta I made that night, but he was a good pet for a few hours!
We enjoyed laughing together at how seriously some took their campsites, even going as far as to decorate. Some had fake trees with lights, others were content with hanging flower baskets and flags or flamingos. All made the natural scenery much more exciting.
It was a fun time to experience the joys as we learn how to do all aspects of life together...even on our first vaction! Good times.
I come from a family that takes time to organize and be really ready for vacation...oh, and camping was not in our vacation vocabulary! Everything is packed with care and the house is left spotless. It was a tad stressful for me to pack, clean, and load a camper (with 5 days of supplies, including meals) in that little of time. Josh comes from a family where camping is a regular activity and he is used to his knowledgeable mom getting stuff ready! Josh and I had some good laughs as we ran a round trying to get it all done. You see, we had to leave early because our first night was not booked at any campsite because we were going to leave the next day originally. We still needed to get a campsite...on a weekend!
With a camper graciously shared with us by Josh's parents, we set off on our adventure. We use the word "adventure" when we're not exactly sure what lies ahead!
I had to adjust as we ended up spending the first night "dry camping." A phrase I learned means "camping in your camper in a parking lot next to other campers...who also did not have a campsite." Though it took a little imagination, it was still fun. Our dear friends Brian and Sjana MacSwan came to hang out the next day...the boys went surfing and the girls went shopping. It was a lot of fun to see them.
Josh and I arrived at our real destination, having a wonderful few days enjoying time alone. He was able to surf, and we also caught a crab I affectionately named Oscar. Josh ended up eating him with the pasta I made that night, but he was a good pet for a few hours!
We enjoyed laughing together at how seriously some took their campsites, even going as far as to decorate. Some had fake trees with lights, others were content with hanging flower baskets and flags or flamingos. All made the natural scenery much more exciting.
It was a fun time to experience the joys as we learn how to do all aspects of life together...even on our first vaction! Good times.
So, I've decided to blog as a way to stay caught up with everyone even though life is running at such a fast pace these days. Gone are the days where catching up with friends means having a quiet evening together...now it's a quick phone call (most often a conversation with an automated answering machine) or e-mail. So, this is my small attempt to stay connected with dear people who at times seem so far away.
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