Weekend Update

So, I'm going to be blogging over the next few weeks for the sake of Nate. That way if he gets a chance he can read it and be up to date on all that's going on at home with his family.
For those of you that stumble upon here, sorry for the boring updates.

Here's what we've been up to the past few days....

• Day 1, Thursday: We dropped Nate off at the airport then chilled at home the rest of the evening. I was preparing for our women's event, which was the following night, so I was busy cutting verses out and relaxing.
  
• Day 2, Friday: I worked from home. Micah was so wonderful. He let me work most of the day. We took breaks throughout the day to take Zoe for a walk, eat breakfast/lunch, put a puzzle together, talk, color, whatever little 3 year old boys need to do. I was semi-productive when it came to work. I got to talk to Nate for just a few minutes before his flight took off for Tokyo - yay!
  We headed up to the church to prepare for the women's event around 4:30. Micah was a wonderful kid, as usual, as we got ready helping with whatever we needed him to. Papa came to pick him up around 6, which left me an hour to finish up preparation for the event.
  God is so good. I was a little discouraged because only about 15 ladies attended our event. We had to think quick on our feet and scrap the game/activities we had planned because of the size of the group, but we still had a good time. In fact we had the opportunity to spend even more time connecting, so that was great. I spoke for about 15 minutes about the lies Satan tells us and how I combat them. Not sure how everyone else thought I did, but I think it was ok. I spoke and shared what God told me to....so it had to be great. :)
  
• Day 3, Saturday: My momma called, while I was still sleeping, to see what we were up to for the day. She ended up coming over and we hit up the yard sale at our church. Micah brought along his piggy bank and ended up finding a few great deals. Two games for $1.25 and a sidewalk chalk toy for free...can't beat that. Then we headed up to Walmart to search for a new vacuum, because ours doesn't work great. I couldn't decide...so I ended up buying 12 journals for $3 (they were only a quarter each, how could I pass that deal up?)
  We ate some decent Cuban food at a new restaurant then Micah and I relaxed most of the afternoon at home.
  Later in the evening we went over to Nate's parents house to figure out a new software program the church has purchased and eat some dinner. Nothing fancy, just a nice evening.
  
  I still hadn't heard from Nate - at this point I was going a little crazy. I did see online (gotta love technology) that his plane from Detroit to Tokyo had arrived safely as did his plane from Tokyo to Bangkok, Thailand. But I had yet to actually hear from him. (This is the longest communication gap we've ever had....and I didn'tlike it).
  
• Day 4, Sunday: We woke up and ate some eggs, shocker. We headed off to church without daddy - that was weird. An awesome thing happened during the first worship song. I was bummed that I still hadn't heard from Nate but nonetheless I was worshipping....then I got a text from my hubby!!! Again, gotta love technology. Even though the team was experiencing internet and phone issues, he was able to get on Twitter and update his status to send me a message. I felt like my heart exploded - in a good way. I knew with everything in me that he was safe (because my God is that good) but it was such a relief to finally receive communication from him.
  After church Micah and I hit up Walmart again, this time actually getting a vacuum (no more journals), then we spent some time vacuuming the house. Gross - I didn't realize how 1) dirty our floors were and 2) how awful our old vacuum was.
  For the last hour or so I've been trying to get our son to take a rest, unsuccessfully.

Missing my hubby like crazy. The house feels different without him here.

I am so blessed to have a husband who loves me but loves his Saviour more. What a great example he is to his family. Love you & miss you. Hopefully we'll get to talk soon.

Praying for Nate & the group he is traveling with (David, Norris, Todd, David, Keith & Drew). May they be blessed, safe and have a blast. The spiritual warfare is increasing as they are there - but GOD IS BIGGER. Be strong and courageous!

Listening

This past Sunday while at a leadership training at South Bay, God showed up. OK, I know that sounds a little silly...because God is omnipresent, always present....but I guess what I mean to say is I shut up and heard Him.
We were learning about listening prayer and responsive reading and what that looks like. This wasn't a totally new concept to me but apparently I had some things to learn.

We had a time where we got to practice this discipline on our own. I got away to a corner of the sanctuary and got on my face, expectantly waiting to hear from God...but not really prepared for what would come. As I read through Psalm 139:17-18, I practiced responsive reading (replying to God's statements, asking clarifying questions, etc) and waited for Him to respond.
Ps 139:17-18 "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!"
During our conversation I asked God several questions..."really, you think about me that much?" "What are your thoughts about me?" "What lie have I believed that causes me to doubt that?"

While I was expectant that He would speak, I was blown away when He did. He spoke right to my spirit and answered far beyond what I could imagine, revealing lies that I had believed and replaced them with His truth about me.

I think it is so cool that we serve such an awesome God who wants an intimate relationship with us. He desires to speak to us. How cool is that?

God has done great things for us

Be praying for my family. We have a lot of upcoming events and new ways we are getting involved in ministry...therefore we know the enemy is prowling.

God is doing some amazing things around us & I know that if we let Him, He is going to do amazing things through us.

Just a quick recap of what's been happening in our lives and what is coming up....

1. Nate will be traveling to Myanmar (aka Burma), Cambodia, Vietnam & China to assist with training pastors in these countries exactly one month from today. We are still in need of support - about $4,000 still. Be praying for support, that God would prepare the way for this group of men, safe travels and open doors. Also, be praying for childcare while Nate is out of the country for 16 days. I will need to work and since Nate is our primary care giver for Micah, we are going to need childcare during the duration of his mission trip.
2. I have joined the Women's Leadership Team at South Bay Church and I am really excited about the opportunity Christ has given me to serve the ladies of our church. Pray for creativity, unity of mind and the desire for the women of SBC to connect to one another.
3. Nate has been asked to lead our small groups ministry at SBC. This is a huge undertaking and can only be successful by operating under Jesus. Pray that he will continue to seek God's direction for the ministry, for small group leaders to be raised up and for the people of South Bay to get excited about connecting to each other.

Contemplations

These are just some random thoughts...mainly for me. Some brought about by my friends/family and some brought up by reading through the Word.

- Love. Do I truly love? What does love look like?
- Am I living in the past (past accomplishments, responsibilities, ministries, duties, etc) or am I living for today? Living out the passion, gifts He's put inside of me?
- Am I being the part of the body God has designed me to be?
- How can I live an ordinary life when I serve an extraordinary God?
- Don't just live out of old encounters but expect new ones!
- Live in a way where the things of God invade into your everyday life.
- If you don't love...you fail. (ouch!)

Learning

The past few days I've been learning what a pastor is, what the Word says, etc.
I just listened to a great sermon by Mark Driscoll on 1 Peter 5 titled Humble Pastor. Good stuff.

It's been fun to dig into the Word to discover what God has to say on the matter (of what a pastor is) as well as a little study on Spiritual Gifts.

So....what's your thought on the matter?

What does a pastor look like to you? What is his job? What would you expect out of him?

Be Consumed With The Things of God!!!

Thanks to a good friend of mine, Lora, I have been listening to a new-to-me pastor/preacher...Ketih Daniel. He's an older guy, but man can he bring the word.

As I was listening to his sermon yesterday on Caleb one major theme stuck out to me & just have to share it.

Be Consumed With The Things of God!!!
- Forget allowing your attention to be diverted. Get consumed with what God has for you, what he's called you to....then DO IT.
"Here I am, send me."
- Ask of Him, then receive what He tells/gives you.
- Read, study, memorize scripture. (Keith Daniel is in his 60s and because he asked of God, God has given him the ability to memorize chunks of scripture with ease)

God wants us to be consumed with HIM, His word, and His love. So much so that it's all that comes out of you.


So...that's my new goal. Forget getting consumed with silly drama, "church", work, social life, etc.....I'm praying that GOD will be all that consumes me.
- My conversations ARE going to change.
- My thoughts are going to change.
- The way I spend my time is going to change.

I want GOD to be all that comes out of me. Who cares if I "sound churchy" or whatever.
"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." - Well, I'm 'saying so'.

July 4th Celebration

Yesterday was a very productive morning. Nate tackled the yard work(not fun) while Micah and I shopped for things for the party. Walmart was crazy busy. After a bit of resting and cleaning the house, Micah and I went swimming in the rain. I haven't done that in a long time...it was fun.

Kali's mom, Kathy, and her cousin, Mya, came over early last night to talk with Kali on Skype while Brittney and I had to make another trip to the store because I ran out of icing for my cake (which was awesome!).



Chocolate cake with cream cheese icing topped with strawberries and blueberries. yum-o








Nate made dinner for everyone. To me, it was the epitome of an American meal...chicken, mac & cheese, baked beans and collard greens. The food was AMAZING!!!



(Everyone sitting around enjoying the meal)


After dinner...it was firework time. The boys had a grand old time blowing stuff up while the girls and the kiddos played with sparklers and chatted.








All in all it was a great 4th of July, even though two of my girl friends couldn't be here because they are out of the USA.
- - Praying for you girls...can't wait to see you soon.

Back to blogging

I've never been all that faithful with this thing...but I'm going to try again.

Seeking God

Over the next few weeks, Nate & I will be seeking God for what's next in our life. If during the next few weeks you think about us, please pray for us.

Things to pray for:

• that we would seek the heart of God for the next step in our journey
• our family intimacy would increase
• our relationships with our Father would become sweeter than ever
• physical, spiritual & emotional health