Preacher Nate

yesterday was awesome! It was Nate's first sunday preaching. He did a fantastic job! He loves long titles (i had no idea) so this was the title to his sermon yesterday. " Consolation in Tribulation: The Sovereignty, Presence, and Goodness of God in Suffering" It came from Psalm 139. It is such a blessing to rest in the fact that God is in control and he is good!

I am so proud of my husband and truly am excited for many more days of his preaching to come.
Ps-- He wore carharts :) and said WHO is spelled with a capital H... he is too funny!

SURPRISE!!!!

THANK YOU!!!!

Yes- I was surprised for my 29th birthday. My wonderful husband Nate and My best friend Samantha totally tricked me. It was great. We had awesome food, games filled with lots of laughter, and the most preious notes from my friends, family and the youth group hung all around the room in the most bright fun colors (i love bright things). It is definitely a night I will never forget and I am grateful to all my friends! Thanks for making this year extra special.

FREE

Freebies-- you hear the word and immediately get excited. Well at least that is how I am. Here are some freebies I have recieved this week (they give them to you for your birthday). You can too- just sign up.

*Coldstone Creamery

*Sitcky Fingers
*Caribou Coffee

*Marble Slab
*Baskin Robbins
*Firehouse subs

*Red Robin Burgers

*Maggianos

*Qdoba

*Moe's

As I was thinking about these sweet treats I just received in my inbox, I realized.... there is an even better freebie. I was brought back to the sweet thoughts of God and how he sent Jesus to me - he gave himself to me, his love, his joy, his peace. Daily, and Forever. What comfort and thanksgiving fill my heart knowing I am HIS and He is mine. Today I pray I will constantly get excited for the freebies from my Heavenly Father just as I did from these birthday offers.

May you enjoy some treats for your day, and be blessed by HIS daily love and grace.

Summertime

Everytime I hear the word summertime I think of that song by DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince. I love the summer and everything about it. Sunshine, cookouts, birthday parties, fireworks, vacations, and this year our youth mission trip.
Tomorrow we are actually having a silent auction to raise money towards our mission trip this summer. We are very excited about it. Come out if you can.
Enjoy the summer heat:)

Wait

Wait... we do we ever like that word. Waiting seems to be the hardest thing at times. From waiting to a stoplight, to waiting for a phone call, to waiting on a new day. I am faced daily with small to big things to wait on. Often, I see I don't respond with patience, but with frustration. I recognize the selfish nature in me to think everything is suppose to happen my way or for me. Once again, back to last week's sentence on realizing life is not about me... and doesn't center around me!! A truth that I must know not in my mind only but with the attitude and actions of my heart.

I am learning to be more silent, still, which is basically waiting. Oh how I fight that stillness to just wait. Wait on what? In my mind there is always something to do or something I want to do. So I have trouble waiting... even more importantly Waiting on the Lord. WOW... I have trouble waiting on the Almighty, All powerful, All Knowing God. That is humbling to acknowledge but ever so true in my life right now. Oh how I want to Know the Lord and know him as in to wait on him. I have been reflecting on this : Be STILL and KNOW that I AM GOD Psalm 46:10. How often I don't want to be still, (wait). However, I am robbing myself of knowing the Lord in this way.

I am beginning to see there is something about this stillness. I am left in awe of God. For HE is so HOLY, so GOOD, so AMAZING! It is then, he catches my gaze, and somehow, I want to wait. I see him, I feel him, I know him. That is all that matters, of course I will wait. I begin to see that the more I know him, the more I am ok to wait. And waiting is now not just an action, but an attitude of my heart in trusting him. I will end with this: Isaiah 40:31 NAS Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength;They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

A. W. Tozer

Lately,

I have been reading the Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer. I read this in high school and loved it. As I have been going back through it, I have been challenged with my view of God. So often I fall into the trap of being the center of my world and life is all about me. Well clearly I know it is not, however what I know and how I act are not the same. I truly want to become so small and Christ to become so large in my life. I have been reflecting on this prayer at the end of Chapter 8 in Tozer's book:
O God, be Thou exalted over my possessions. Nothing of earth's treasures shall seem dear unto me if only Thou art glorified in my life. Be Thou exalted over my friendships. I am determined that Thou shalt be above all, though I must stand deserted and alone in the midst of the earth. Be Thou exalted above my comforts. Though it mean the loss of bodily comforts and the carrying of heavy crosses, I shall keep my vow made this day before Thee. Be Thou exalted over my reputation. Make me ambitious to please Thee even if as a result I must sink into obsurity and my name be forgotten as a dream. Rise, O Lord into Thy proper place of honor, above my ambitions, above my likes and dislikes, above my family, above myhealth and even life itself. Let me sink that Thou mayest rise above.

Holidays

Well I am late in writing to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. But it never hurts to say it late:) We had a busy holiday traveling to see My family in Hickory and Nate's family in Chapel Hill. It was great and relaxing!!! We love spending time with our families and are so thankful for them.
We celebrated New Years with friends at our house doing a Murder Mystery Dinner. It was a Western and Nate was a great Saloon owner. It was so much fun. If you have never participated in one of these it is definitely worth doing. I even made a cactus cake.
Soon after that I had surgery to remove my gallbladder. No fun... still recovering, but definitely doing better. It is strange to think I had an organ removed from my body. It amazes me how God created our bodies to cope with certain things.
Well I hope not to wait as long to write next time.