Tuesday, April 13, 2010

God's Blessing

I am soooo thrilled and excited this morning....I don't even know where to start!!  God has placed some women on my heart...heavily!  One of which was just baptized on Sunday!  I cried...I praised God for her salvation!  
Earlier that week Tim had asked me if I would be willing to evangelize and I said sure!!  Then I asked him what that meant.  I didn't know.  This wasn't a term I was familiar with so we talked about it.  When you realize that you are asking someone if they are going to Heaven or not and if they were to die today would they know where they are going....is a bit scary!!  Now I don't normally have a problem talking but this was serious.  
So back to my friend that was baptized.  She and I had been hanging out and I had asked if she was ready for it but she felt she wasn't.  After Easter's message and me asking her about it a few days later she sent an email to Tim asking if it was too late for her to be baptized on Sunday.  Well of course it wasn't .  So Tim charged me with 'sealing the deal' with her since he was out of town.  Not that anybody's salvation is a 'light' thing to consider...but I just felt a huge amount of responsibility.  I talked with her and she was ready!  We were crying before she even walked into the sanctuary!!  It was truly inspiring to see this and wonderful.  I'm so excited about where God is going to take her in her walk with Him.  Who knows?!  
I led the women's bible study last night.  We started Crazy Love by Francis Chan which is just a great book.  This morning I got the best message of encouragement....she said, 


'So after last night I just wanted to let you know how much I look up to you!! I had no idea that YOU have gone through any of those feelings and had some of the same thoughts that I have. In my mind you are sooooo strong and full of faith. I honestly use you as an example as where I would like to be someday in my relationship with God and just as an awesome person!! I'm sure I am not the only one that feels this way either!! So I love you and always keep your head up!'


This just made me beam up at my Father....for it's Him that I hope shines through me.  And then I am starting a single-ish girls group and there is one of the girls that I wanted to make sure would come along but she has a baby boy....well I didn't have anyone for childcare.  I found someone!!  So I sent her a message and this is how she replied, 


'im excited! thanks for keeping bugging me about it because that is what i neeeeed! seriously if i dont respond just keep writing me emails facebooks and anything because i wasnt going to go but then i was like wait.. what am i thinking! this is what i need right now.. good people and good environment and good conversation.. seriously! i love you kathy!'


I couldn't have asked for a better morning!!  This has just been a good day!!


Last night...I was talking to my boyfriend....telling him that I wanted to have dinner for the girls on these nights and that I was going to go ahead and do it.  He asked if the church was going to pay for it and I said that I was going to try to get the girls to chip in and pay for the food.  He said that he wanted to take care of it!!  So he will be paying for all the food so I don't have to worry about this!!  God is so good!!  Thank you Jesus!!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

A Commons Update

This year has started out really well for The Commons.  After all the holidayness that has gone around we still kept the festivities going in January.  There were ladies movie nights followed with dessert and coffee with a game after.  Some birthdays and Bunco parties.  If you haven't ever played Bunco and like games....try it! 
I'm trying to be more intentional with building relationships with some of the ladies on the fringe of our community. 
The end of January brought something very exciting for The Commons 2011.  Tim announced that we were starting up a 4-week membership class on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  We have over 30 who are attending these classes.  We are going to offer them again on Sunday nights at the end of February.  This is a crucial time for The Commons.  Some of the people attending have never attended or have ever been an offical member of a church so this is huge.  It's all very exciting!
We are still continuing the ladies 'Breaking Free' Beth Moore bible study.  It's been a great thing for the ladies and myself.  We have a couple more weeks left and Amy, Becky and myself have talked about just doing a straight bible study for the remaining weeks.  I am really excited about that.
The men are doing a book study on Monday nights that started with Monday night football.  Then it turned into a book study and then football and with football over it's now just a book study.  That was a huge blessing to see develop. 
Amy, Becky and myself met a few weeks ago to talk about Sports Camp 2010.  The dates are set for July 12-16th.  If anyone is interested in coming up here to serve in this great outreach opportunity please let me know.  I have a house now and plenty of floor space. 
For 2010 I have been assigned two new responsibilities.  One is Assimilation for The Commons.  I had to learn what that word even meant and then what it actually looks like.  The wonderful thing about being a church plant with an emphasis on community and sharing God's word is the fluidity that we have with outreach.  Outreach can look like so many things.  Assimilation can look so many different ways.  I look forward to what assimilation is going to look like over the years for The Commons. 
The other is responsibility is Events and Activities.  This includes everything from our game nights to Sunday lunches after church to the dinner we provide at the family membership classes.  This is me learning how to cook, how to budget and how to cater.  :-)  I can start my own business after this and tell you how much money it would take to feed over 50 people.  Get any more people than that and I don't know if I could tell you....I would just order pizza.  Just kidding. 
With these responsibilities comes the need to know how to delegate.  Unfortunately I do not know how to do this.  This will only hurt me in the long run because I will drive myself insane because I won't let anything go.  This has to be a prayer focus for me.  I know I can do it and I know once I get the hang of things it shouldn't be that difficult....but I just have to learn it.  I hear it takes 30 days of a new habit to take the place of an old 'bad' habit.  I guess I need to delegate something for the next 30 days.....that should be interesting for those around me....or tortorous! 

Kat

Ramblings.....

I have a problem with consistency....as is visible with this blog. I have a problem streamlining things in my head...thoughts.....tasks. If I don't write it down on a piece of paper...it wont' get done. And in all honesty even if it gets written down it's not always done.
That brings me to another point. I used to write. I have a boat load of poems that I wrote many, many moons ago. Granted...none of them are award winning but I remember I enjoyed it for the most part. None of them were anything exciting....mostly all on the subject of Love...because I'm a girl. And maybe I don't write anymore about 'Love' because I have found the greatest of loves....God. But don't you think I might start writing about His love?!? Hasn't happened.
Then let's talk about reading. I read the Harry Potter books quicker than I have ever read anything. I read a certain series about a certain vampire and a girl even quicker!! Is this what I want to spend my time reading? Not always but it is a nice break. Put me on a plane and give me only one option and I will read through a Erwin McManus book and underline the crap out of it....but once I'm off the plane...it won't be picked up. Only for a reference.
If you asked me what I enjoy doing....I don't know where to start. I LOVE being with people. And at the same time...I'm ok with sitting on my couch watching my DVR'd shows with popcorn and Dr. Pepper. But then I look back at that sentence and think....really Kathy?! You could be bettering yourself by reading or writing....a letter, a card, a poem, a blog, a newsletter....but instead....you eat!?
Something has to change, right?!
I know I'm hard on myself. And trust me folks, I do know that it's not the only thing that I do...but I want to finish that book and write that poem. Or do I?! Maybe the better question is....what motivates me to finish anything??

....

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Year In Review

Well folks....it's been a year!! It's been a year since I drove up to the Corbins house and saw the 'Welcome Home' sign on their house outside....for me!!

I have thoroughly enjoyed what this last year has done for The Commons, me, God's Kingdom, The Commons and me.

Let me start with The Commons.... When I first got here we had a regular attendance of maybe....50-70 folks...which is great! We were meeting in Post Middle School in Arlington. We had community group on Wednesday nights at the Corbins that would consist of 40 plus people...and kids....kids running around the house until bible study started. FUN! :-)

Since then The Commons has moved to a bigger elementary....Pioneer Elementary in Arlington and our attendance now runs over 100 on average. We have more space for the kids which was a huge concern at Post and just a great location.

Now let's look at me....not too long, you may hurt your eyes! When I first got here I was living with one our The Commons families and my cats were in another families house. It was 8 or 9 weeks before I found a place of my own. And it was on my 6 month anniversary that I found a job. But before finding my job I went through one of the roughest seasons of my life. And I have been through some stuff....but never with God. He was showing me how to depend on Him. I had a relationship with Him....but I wasn't dependent....huge difference. And I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. If He brought me here for only that....it was worth every tear, cry, yell, laugh, smile and love that has deepened and understanding of what He wants from me....every day of my life.

Thanks for being there folks!

--me

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Address

Folks I need your address!! I have a little something for everyone from The Commons team. If you are interested in receiving a little something from The Commons please send me your email address to servinginseattle.com.

Thanks!!
Kat


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Sunday, November 29, 2009

Of a Sunday morning....

I can't explain the absolute joy I have in my heart for where God has brought me.
Sitting here at The Commons during set up....listening to Tim and Amy singing and my team enjoying a private moment of worship before we start working. It's just lovely people. I can't explain it. I only hope more people can experience something like this....giving your life to Him.....He shows you so much....it's hard but so worth it!!
In Christ.


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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Share Time

Ok folks. It's time for me to get real with you. Lately I have been feeling like I'm not doing enough!! I'm not seeing people like God sees them!! I'm listening to a Brandon Heath song 'Gimme Your eyes'. I LOVE it but a I listen and look out at the people passing...am I really doing that...even though I have asked for His eyes numerous times. I fail.

I recognize how unworthy I am of His love. And I brings tears to my eyes realizing that He does love me despite my many short comings!! How can people not know or want to know this beautiful Savior. Thank you God for loving the people You created. Speak to those who don't know You and move in this who aren't listening to you. Remind me why You brought me here.

Kat


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Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Commons




I just am amazed more and more, every day, how much God has really done for me. I love the people I serve with and the people of The Commons.

This a view of the new school that we are meeting at, Pioneer Elementary.

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Monday, September 21, 2009

So Many Thoughts.....

I realized I have so much to say that I don't know where to start. The Commons has been greatly blessed these last few months. It's outrageous the amount of God's love that I have been allowed to see.
This past Sunday we had a block party after service. But the number of attendees for the service was BIG. We had 128 people show up for The Commons service on Sunday!! 128!! This is a big number. And we were even missing a few families that we might consider regular!! Amazing blessing from God here folks!
The block party was excellent. The weather couldn't have been better! The kids always enjoy the inflatables and snow cones. We had BBQ sandwiches for the big kids. And they enjoyed it as well.
It was a busy day. At the church at 8:30 for set up. Tear down after service while setting up for block party. Break down block party. We had a small crew for set up and a small crew for tear down. The cool thing is a guy took his family home just to turn around and help us put everything back.
One of the coolest things lately is seeing a few of our people step up. I never realized how much it took to 'set-up' church. I have mentioned before how I think some take for granted that the coffee is there in the coffee pot....but do you know who set up the coffee station--is it always there--who made that pot--and how is it magically being filled...when there is an actual person that does it. This is what I did at Summit in Little Rock. I took it all for granted. Now after being at the Commons for 9 months....I see....

Sunday, September 13, 2009

The Latest

Well there is so much to update from just a month ago. I really am going to try and get better at this folks. Maybe you guys can ask questions and I can answer them on my next blogs. Just a thought.
Anyways....so the Commons launched The Commons 2.0 this morning!! It's nothing big but it is for us (leadership). This however was really a big day for the parents of some kinders because the kinders moved up to the 'big' kids area. I am excited to serve in that area to see all the 'new' faces!
A little bit on that area--the kids meet in the band room of the middle school and they go through a dvd based curriculum. Jason Coles leads and has them go through the lesson while pausing in different areas to ask questions a long the way, thus earning points (also known as balls) to put in their basket. It's a very lovely thing. There are songs that the kids get up and participate in hand movements and such as well as a verse and a quiz at the end for them to earn more points.
As for The Commons 'adults' the message today was great. Tim talked about different stages that people are in their walk with Christ. Resisting, Questioning, Responding, Infancy, Adolescent, Serving and Reproducing. This was such an eye opener for me. I struggled with the Adolescent and Serving area. I feel that sometimes I sit in the Adolescent stage for a bit and then go to the Serving. I have yet to get the the Reproducing state but that was a huge part of my prayer to Him this morning. If you would join me in praying for that I would greatly appreciate it.
We'll leave it at this for now. I hope I haven't lost my readers.....I do update this! :-)

Monday, August 10, 2009

Gotta love the God stories.....

Ok...so let's talk about something crazy!! Let's talk about how big God really is and here's a story for ya.
When I went home in May some friends of mine got engaged. They mentioned me being in their wedding and said that they would help me financially to be able to pay for the dress and get a ticket to fly back.
I have a friend that told me he was going to support me for a month instead of tithing to his church because he wasn't going to be attending for a month.
I come across a really good deal for a ticket to go back home for wedding....round trip for $240.00!! A friend helped me get this but paying her back was going to stretch me pretty good.
When I got the first 'tithe' from my friend, guess how much it was for..........$240!!
And the kicker is that my tithing friend had no idea of any of this. He was just doing what God told him to do.
Just amazing!!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

I don't even know.....

where to start......

Sports Camp week brought so much!! Learning, meeting, learning about myself, learning more about ministry and just when I thought I couldn't get any more busy......it got busy!! :-)

We had over 200 kids register for our Sports Camp!! We would start at 8:30 and we would have kids show up as early as 8:45. The camp started at 9:30 and ended at 11:30. We made some great connections with some great families!! More than anything....we had some great folks come to town to help us with this camp week! This was very interesting for me to see since last year I was in their shoes. I remember thinking when I came on the mission trip to help with this Sports Camp that I didn't do much to help. One of the first things that Tim told the groups was that they were here to do the things we would otherwise be doing that take us away from meeting and talking to new folks. He was clear to them that they were helping us in such a huge way.....and they did!! It was awesome to not have to worry about putting things up or running anything. For me this week was a crazy week! I was getting up and setting up registry every morning. Running out early from tear down of Sports Camp to go home and get ready for work. I would get to work about 1pm and then I leave at 3pm. I would hurry home and get ready to head to the block parties that we were having every night. The one night we didn't have one a small group of us went for a hike and that was truly refreshing for me!! Our last night we had a big Family Celebration night with 6....yup....6 blow up bouncy things, tattoo and face painting tables, all the cotton candy, popcorn and snow cones you could want and the grand prize give away! It was a great night for The Commons. It was a huge, busy and very tiring week for the leadership staff but a glorious payoff in the end. God truly had His hand in it from the very beginning!!

Now that I work two jobs, which is very nice it feels like I have just been running and running. After Sports Camp I needed to get ready for Corrie coming. Needlesstosay....I didn't do that well of a job. The week that she arrived (Jul. 31st) was the HOTTEST week for Arlington. It was crazy!! This made it very hard to motivate myself to do something. The last thing I wanted to do when I got home was vaccum. But if she is going to live with me then she needs to see my true colors, right?! Yup....she accepts me just the way I am!! :-)

More soon folks....promise.....sleepy....

Friday, July 10, 2009

SPORTS CAMP.....and other things

So yeah we are in the throws of it folks! Sports Camp is next week and I never really put much thought into what goes on for this. We are doing Sports Camp and block parties starting as early as this Saturday!!!
And get this folks....you have to tell people about the block parties and the sports camp....so you can in turn tell them about Jesus!! OHHH....that's how this is working.
We have these killer announcements about the Sports Camp on one side and then about the Commons on the other and those are the main announcement sheets. Then we attach a small piece of white paper talking about the Block Party in their neighborhood going on whatever day its going to be and the location.
So how do you get the announcements out.....well the folks come to your door and ask for the announcements for their neighborhood....ummm not quite. We put on our shoes and get our folks out and put them on peoples doors. I was with Amy and the girls so at different times I had Madison and Tait or just me and Riley. It was super fun! The girls were really getting into it...until lip gloss came into play.....long story! :-)
In addition to the excitement of Sports Camp....I have a job! No...another one. I am still doing the office work for Mark but I know have a job....in an office....and will have benefits!! YAY!! It's a business called Pacnor Marketing and I am loving it! It's just a small team and a smaller business and that's what I like! This is going to be hard though during Sports Camp as I will be doing the Sports Camp in the mornings and then coming straight to work!! It will be tough but God's strength will get me through this!! I know it!
I am getting more and more excited about Corrie coming up here!! I really can't wait! Please pray that God provides the house that we would like to have to use for ministry!! Please pray that He provides in every which a way for the coffee shop!!
I know there is probably more I have to say but that's I will say for now. I don't know how much I will blog during Sports Camp but I will try to give a mid-week update.
Thanks so much!! Love you all!! Thanks for the prayers and the support!! May God bless you in ways you never imagined!!

Monday, May 25, 2009

A Deep Valley

I knew it had been awhile since I had posted a blog but I didn't realize that it was that long. It's been a month!! Sheesh! I should be fired or something!

I have to tell ya'll that this has been hard. A hard set of months. I knew when I moved up here that I was going to have to deal with lonliness but I didn't know what that was going to look like at all! I wouldn't have pictured it to look the way that it has for me the months of March/April and May.

I was at a low. I was at a low because of my finances. I was at a low because of the lack of friends in my new city. I was at a low because I wasn't hearing from folks back home as much as I thought I would. I was at a low, most importantly, because I was focusing inward and not upward. I was letting myself dwell on self-pity! I was letting my circumstances define my life!!

It was the counsel of some great women and from my mom that helped me to get through this! A very good friend told me I needed to get down on my face and cry out to my Father...and I did. I can't tell you how wonderful the following two weeks were for me.

I just ask for you all to continue to pray for me. This isn't the last that the enemy has for me and I know that. Pray for my support and my family. I am currently in Arkansas until Friday and will blog about that when I get back home. Thanks for everything folks!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Newsletter

Hey Folks....I am sending out monthly newsletters. If you are interested in receiving them please email me at lettuce614@gmail.com with the email address you wish to receive the newsletter. Thanks for following!

For His Glory...

What could happen in a week?

Well, Well, Well...let me just tell ya! The night of my last post Corrie Jones had just come into town. She was here at the beginning of March and felt that God was calling her to The Commons. This was a very exciting time. I hadn't mentioned it before because I didn't want to speak before it had been bathed in prayer. She will be here in July!!

Her and I are talking about a business together and I could use ya'll's prayers about this opportunity. I am super excited about it but there is a lot to work out. Once I know more I will be sharing it with everyone.

The day after she got here we went to Portland, OR with 9 other ladies to see Beth Moore speak. This was the first time I ever attending a speakers event. I have been to a leadership conference where there were many speakers and many you could choose from but not one that is solely for one person. I didn't know what to expect. Leave it to God to come and show up big!

The event opened up with some worship that was just super and blew me away! There were over 7200 women there from 25 different states! It's amazing! At several points there is just the womens voices singing and you could just feel God's presence.

It was truly a wonderful time having Corrie here. It was cool to be able to plan what it will be like when she comes in July. We are going to get a place together and we are in agreeance of where we want to live, area wise, and hope that can happen but ultimately we will be where He wants us to be.

It's more amazing to have an addition to the Commons team. Her background is missions so she will have a lot to add and a lot to share. This is a truly awesome time....hard (I will elaborate later) but awesome and wonderful!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

The lastest happenings...

Well it's been a few weeks since my last post. There have been a few events to pass. My dad's birthday, spring break and Easter being a few things.

I called my dad the morning of his birthday and sang to him. He was making my mom cook breakfast for him instead of them going somewhere. Her breakfast just may have trumped my singing but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Easter brought some great fun for The Commons. The Friday before was a little gathering for the preschool kids at the Corbins.

Amy asked for me to stuff the plastic eggs with some candy for the egg hunt.

When I arrived at her house I proceeded with hiding the eggs in her backyard. Madison helped me hide them as well.

It was a bit rainy but true Washitonians don't care is what the Corbins said. I had a bit of a doubt.

But nevertheless, the kids were out there in their jackets and picking up as many eggs as they could.
Easter service at The Commons was a great day! We had a full band, drums, keyboards and Tim on guitar as usual. We had a great turnout of folks. We counted about 100 folks including kids. I was with the childrens and there had to be at least 20 kids in their alone. I heard from folks that the service was great.
This week we kicked off the community groups as well. I will be attending a group that meets on Thursday nights at the McKee house, which is where I lived for the first few weeks I was here. I am excited about that since I already have a good friendship built with the family. I will update more after a few weeks are under our belt.
For the first few weeks we will be discussing questions about the previous weeks sermon. We get the questions from Tim and discuss them as a group. Each group has a facilitator, most from the leadershiop team, and we have the same structure as our gatherings. Amy has even come across some DVD's that the groups could use for the children.
Exciting times for The Commons.

Monday, March 30, 2009

The Latest News........

I have an apartment!! God really provided for this.....another wonderful God story to go along with this amazing find of an apartment!! I saw a posting on Craigslist and called the person up. I went to meet Carla at the address. I told her what brought me to the great state of Washington and she said that she had prayed about who God wanted for this apartment. She told me that she felt it was me that was supposed to live here. The biggest thing folks......I get to have my cats!! She didn't ask for a deposit for them or anything.

It is an apartment attached to the house (it has the same siding as my apartment). It is a small one bedroom. You have to take two steps up into the kitchen, which is one of my favorite features. The bedroom is just big enough for my bed and my chest of drawers. I am using my dresser as a stand for my tv. It's the perfect amount of space. I have too many clothes to fit in the closet and chest of drawers but I am going to go through those this week and take them to Goodwill.
The Coles came over to help me hang up some of my pictures! I could not have done this alone. First of all, I don't have a cool laser to make sure things are straight.....or an eye for what should go where (Thanks Becky)! Poor Sammy boy is allergic to cats......we found out the hard way unfortunately.

I just opened up my home to a small group of girls this past Friday night! We ate pizza, watched a couple of movies and pretty much stayed up until 1....some stayed up until 3am! ;-) This is what I want my house to be....a fellowship home open to everyone. I hope to do something with moer of the youth girls as well in the near future.

I want to say thank you to all those who are supporting me right now! It's great and its what allows me to open up my home to the women of our community!

Please keep me in your prayers!!! Support is running lower and lower each month and not sure if this is God wanting me to get a full time job or not. Please pray for clarity on God's plan for me here!! THANKS to you ALL!!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Another........

I know....I know but as I get questions I figure that maybe someone else has the same one so I will inform the masses on here. :-)

A couple of things that are on my list of things to do. Find an apartment, another job and create a support team.

I am currently still living with the McKee family and am very grateful that they are putting up with me for this long. I met Kristen at the women's retreat when I came up last and her and I just clicked. We kept in touch after I left and she graciously opened up her home to me. I did not imagine that I would be without my own place for this long. I have been living on 2 weeks worth of clothes for the past month and a half! But that's ok because I have a place to stay. The most challenging thing about getting a place is showing proof of income. Something about people wanting rent.......

On the job front. I mentioned that I am working on Mondays for a small business. I love this! I enjoy helping out a small business because this means that Mark can spend more time with his family because what I get done for him is less he has to worry about. Now Mark has mentioned doing this for other service type business so it's just a matter of finding out how this would work. With Mark and his wife being part of the church family it makes it easy to go to their house and work in the office. I don't know what this type of work would look like for other people. Just one thing I need to figure out. Another possibility that I am mulling over is a mommy's day out kind of thing. A lot of the mom's here are stay at home moms and hardly ever get away from the kids. Something as simple as a trip to Target can be a headache after awhile. So I have thought of providing child care for moms that want to take a couple of hours to go shopping, get their hair done or go sit somewhere and read a book! Whatever! I am just working on what this looks like.

On the support team. Without knowing who is committed to help in my support, I am unable to guarantee how much income I would be getting to validate an apartment application. I know I have a few folks back home that are signed up to help but I need a few more. I can't tell you how awesome it is to have the time to meet up with some ladies for coffee or just hang at their house with them. More than anything I want to open up my home to them. They can come by for lunch or coffee (we do that a lot here) or they could come drop their kids off while they run to buy themselves a pair of shoes!! God has put it on my heart to open up my home to our community and I want this more than anything.

On a more personal note: There are quite a few folks in our community that are allergic to cats. Some of the kids even. Currently my cats are staying with a foster family. I have been so grateful to them for it. Nova had an allergic reaction to some flea bites so I took her to the vet as soon as I saw what was happening to her. It was an awful thing to see her like this. She was acting fine but had a bare spot on her back where a rash had developed. This hurt. I felt bad because if I had a place to live then she might not have had to gone through this. Now Tiny has worms because of the fleas. This has nothing to do with the family that they are with just so we are clear. They have a cat that goes inside and out. My cats were always just inside cats and I never had to treat them with a preventative. So after constant thoughts of finding new homes for them I have come to the conclusion that I should. It also helps in finding an apartment as well because a lot of them in a decent price range don't allow pets.

For those of you who know me......you know I love my cats! And it brings me to tears now just thinking about this but I want what's best for them in this situation as well. Without knowing what my job situation is looking like and it looking like what it is now, who knows how long it will be before I get my own place. And when I finally get my place and I start to feel lonely......I know who to turn to.......but this still hurts.

Take care! Love~~

Some Stories.........

I will leave names out but I want you all to really try and understand what all God is doing in people's lives up here. Mine, especially.

I have had some great times with my Father since being here.....since being in a place in my life to fully rely on Him! I have been put in situations that I never thought I would have been in or around. I would like to share some of those with you.

On average we could have about 20 youth coming to our Gatherings on Wednesday night. None of them have bibles. Most of them don't know all the books in the bible, most of them don't know what Philippians 3:7 means......that the 3 is the chapter of the book of Philippians and that the 7 is the verse. Cham was priviledged enough to see one of our youth (18 years old) open his very own bible for the first time........FIRST TIME!

We have a family that has just purchased their very own first bible and she is my age. On her way home she cradled her bible like a baby in her hands. She understands how precious this book is and just wants to learn more. There are some people back home that probably have 5 bibles in their homes that they don't even take to church.

Speaking of church. The magic cabinets and endless supplies of EVERYTHING.......not up here. If we need something......there is no room of endless resources. We have youth that don't have bibles. Bibles are expensive and we don't have the funds to buy our people bibles. This other family went out and got bibles for the whole family. The young boy was so excited about his that he wanted to take it to school!!

The thirst of people who don't know God or haven't yet experienced the right relationship with Him is an eye-opening experience. I have to know what I am talking about and be able to share my experiences with Him as well. Some folks up here can't even say 'my walk with Christ' out loud.....around other people. I used to be that way. I didn't know how to share anything about God.......because I wasn't living fully for Him......I wasn't working on my relationship with Him in order for Him to give me the strength and confidence to share about His gracious love!

This is random.....but that's me. Only a few times has the thought crossed my mind....am I where God wants me to be and so many times He shows me that I am. I didn't grow up in church knowing the stories of the bible or the father Abraham song. I still don't know ALL the stories in the bible......and that's it. God has me in a place where I HAVE to rely on His word.....on Him!

There is so much more that I just can't put on this website. In all honesty not really sure that I can tell everyone about but if you would like to know more just give me a call or drop me a line in email. And we will leave it at that...................

Take care! Love~~~