Would You Pray?

I just wanted to take a moment to share something that is on my heart in hopes that everyone reading this might take a moment to just say a prayer. I was scrolling through my Facebook and came across a picture collage of a friend's day in Ecuador. If you know me you already know where this is headed but if you don't you should understand that after my first mission trip there I fell in love with the people, the group I was with, and the places that I saw. I miss Ecuador all of the time and really do hope that the Lord is willing for me to return sooner rather than later.

So anyway, as I passed the pictures my heart broke a little and the tears began to stream. I miss Ecuador far more than I though it possible for me to miss ANY foreign country. In my head something that has become normal began. I started remembering every aspect of my mission trip there. I remembered the sweet little chapel that I have mentioned here before, I remembered camp Chacauco, I remembered the jungle camp which I think was probably my favorite of the two, I thought about the sweet little family that I met while I was there that I love so very much, the beauty, and just so much more. 

Some of you are reading this and feeling sorry for my heartache, others are tired of hearing about it, both however, would probably want to pray for God to take away the heartache. PLEASE DON'T... As crazy as that may sound I would like to ask that you would pray asking God instead, to provide a way for me to return soon. Pray over the financial details (because mission trips are EXTREMELY expensive), pray for the timing so that things will work out with school for me to take a leave of absence, pray that the Lord would take every worry I have and remind me that He is GREATER. 

If you have made it this far in the post I want to thank you for reading and for your prayers. I know that the Lord is good and that His "faithful love endures forever". I am thankful for the HUGE family that is the body of Christ, and the brothers and sisters in that body that lift each other up in prayer. What an amazing privilege to be apart of the family of God! May the Lord bless and keep you, making His face shine upon you and giving you His peace! (Numbers 6:24-26) =)

Breakfast:)

I got to make breakfast for my family today. I will admit that this is something I enjoy doing when I am able and I think my parents and sister are more than happy to let me cook. For your viewing pleasure here is a picture of my breakfast masterpiece (plate):

As you can see I cooked bacon, biscuits and my special potatoes. I would tell you what all I put on my potatoes but than you might could make them and they would no longer be special. My family will tell you I am a good cook, but they will also tell you that I am a pain to clean up after. With the way I cook it really makes me wonder how hard it is to clean up after television cooks... I really feel bad for some of the people that are on clean up crew for cooks like Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay, Paula Dean, and even the cast of The Chew. I think the clean up crew for the last one would have more sympathy from me simply because they are cleaning up after FOUR individuals who have cooked different things throughout the coarse of the show. 

So anyway, I am happy to announce that I had PERFECT scores on ALL of my week 2 assignments in my class, and I intend to do just as well this week. I am so happy that everything is going well in school and I praise God for His hand on everything. 

Well I guess you are all probably pretty hungry after looking at that picture so I will let you go and try to find bacon as good as that:) It's time for me to go and get ready for work/church. Tonight is our last night of Awesome August at Gardendale First Baptist Church. Siran Stacey the former Alabama football player is coming to speak. If you don't have a church home or even if you do you should come and visit my church for an AMAZING night of worshiping God, and hearing His word through our speaker. It's a blessing that you absolutely DO NOT want to miss. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE and may you be blessed with the most wonderful day ever in Jesus!!!! :)

GCU Tech. Support

Most of the time people are very frustrated and irritable after getting off of a long phone call with technical support no matter what the reason. Well tonight I was on the phone with technical support at GCU, for about 10 minutes short of 2 hours give or take a little bit. However, I am not here to rant and rave about how horrible technical support is. In fact I would like to thank GCU for having such a wonderful staff. After many error reports, a big sad face, a LONG wait for a document to load, some jelly beans and a very lovely conversation with the girl as we were waiting I got off the phone very happy and filled with a little renewed joy. I very much enjoyed the conversation that the girl and I had as we waited and I believe whole heartedly that God set aside that time to happen just as it did. It was nice to talk to someone who was so very joy-filled.  

All of my experiences with GCU staff have been more than pleasant. GCU has wonderful, very helpful, committed staff members who well help you as long as it takes, but this girl went above an beyond in my opinion staying on the line with me for as long as she did and conversing with me about life, school and other things, as she and I waited for the application to finally load. After talking with her so long I hope that at some point during my college career at GCU she and I as fellow students can become sincere friends. 

Thank you so very much Grand Canyon University and Priscilla (the girl from tech. support) for being such awesome people and really showing the spirit of God! =D I look forward, even more now, to the rest of my college career at GCU:)

Craving Cold

A lot of people are not going to like me for saying this but that's okay, here it goes.... I'M READY FOR WINTER!!! There I said it, and yes I feel better for having said it. I know I will probably start saying how ready I am for summer when it's 15 degrees outside with the wind cutting through my clothes, but right now I'm ready for the cold. My sister always has a good point when it comes to cold weather. She always says "At least in the Winter I can keep putting on layers, but in the Summer I have to quit shedding layers at some point". 

Another plus to the cold weather is the holidays. If you saw my post about Christmas in July you probably know that I am just a little bit ready for Christmas. So yes that is another good reason for me to be ready for the Winter. Thanksgiving and Christmas are such wonderful holidays. There is always fun stuff like the Christmas program at the church, the beautiful Christmas Eve candlelight service, the music on the radio and in the church, decorating, and of coarse the food!! Is it me or is food always better during Thanksgiving and Christmas? I thought so.

Nothing is better than the Christmas story though. Not the one that you always here out of the story book, but the REAL Christmas story. The story of Jesus being born. Christmas brings so many closer together. Okay, so right now you are probably a little tired of me talking about Christmas but admit it, the child in you can't with for it to get here:)

Well, since Christmas isn't quite here yet, I guess I should go and start getting ready for work. May the Lord bless you with the most AWESOME day you have ever experienced in Jesus! =D And I'll try not to talk about Christmas so much during my next post.

By the way! I HAVE A 99 IN MY FIRST COLLEGE CLASS!!!!! I just thought I'd let you know:)

Crazy Week

So it has been one crazy week. Good but crazy. This week I got a whole new class of kids as mine moved on to bigger and better things on the 3 year old hall. The same day of move-up, I started my first class online at Grand Canyon University and have been getting settled in and at the same time we are all preparing Sofie (our exchange student) to start school next week. Oh! Did I mention my church is in revival? No? Well, we are. This is Awesome August at my church so the choir gets to be up there every Wednesday this month. I know, I know, as you read all of that it doesn't really seem that crazy but try living it. 

Move-up wasn't as bad as my past move-ups. The kids are wonderful. The parents seem SUPER nice, and I'm not there until after six anymore. I feel like my day has been cut in half at work even though I still work the same amount of time. 

As far as my first class, while I stay very busy with school work already, I absolutely love it! I am only in an introductory class right now. This class will last 7 weeks and teach me how to better manage my time, study, and use the LoudCloud system for the rest of my college career. I am enjoying every minute of it and can't wait to start my bible classes. 

So, I'll admit getting Sofie ready for school hasn't really been that huge of an ordeal but it gave you a quick update on her. My church being in revival? That has been amazing!! We have seen God move in such big ways in the last two Sunday's and if you haven't been there you are SO missing out on HUGE blessings. I double dog dare you to show up this Wednesday at Gardendale First Baptist Church. Come worship God, and then be blessed by our guest speaker. You won't be disappointed! 

Last but definitely not least, please pray for my sister. She has been in a whole lot of pain lately and has been sick. No one has been able to tell her what is wrong but she has been miserable in and out of doctors and Emergency Rooms. My family and I know that God is good and faithful and that He takes care of everything in His timing. I hope you are all having an AMAZING week!!! Don't forget to check out Great News!!!!! this upcoming week for some more new devotionals (Lord willing!). May the Lord bless and keep you my sweet family in Christ!! Thank's for reading my random updates=D

I'm so EXCITED!!

I am SOOOOOOOO excited to be able to go to the house of the Lord this morning and worship!!! God is SO awesome and has done SO many GREAT things that I would be crazy to NOT want to worship Him! I will admit that I am kind of nervous because I found out last night that I am going to be singing a solo for invitation. However, I know that I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me! He has revealed Himself to me in such mighty ways the last few times that I have sang solos and I don't believe this time will be any different. 

Along with all of the new stuff going on here at the house, last Sunday the college class at church received a big announcement that our Sunday school teachers (whom we all love) are being moved to teach a new class and serve the Lord in a new way. Not only that but we will no longer be meeting as a Sunday school class. From now on we will have a new youth pastor leading us along with his wife, at a little sitting area in the church. They want it to be more like a fellowship I guess you could say, so I think we are all a bit nervous about that among some other changes that they are making that we are not really clear on. So today is our first day starting that. We will meet our new teacher today at 10:10. No one is really big on change so I would definitely appreciate prayers for my Sunday school class and I as we prepare to push through the change and see what God wants to do new in our lives. 

I hope you are as excited as I am to go and worship the Lord this morning. If you aren't planning to attend church this morning then I have to ask.... WHY IN THE WORLD NOT???? Don't you realize that this is a time to join up with other believers, YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS and celebrate the Lord who has formed you and made you and been with you through all of your trials and troubles?? More importantly the God who has SAVED YOU! It's time to get up, get to a church that is a living and breathing, bible teaching, truth speaking church and WORSHIP the Lord your God! He has been entirely too good for you not to worship Him, even if you can't see the good right now. 

I am ecstatic because I get to worship with my worship family for the first Sunday in a month. We have been off for a break through July and sang our first service back together this past Wednesday for our Awesome August kick off "Raise The Praise". 

WOW, it is amazing that I can ramble so much on a blog.  I hope you will go and worship the Lord this morning in a church that is ALIVE in Christ, but more that that, I hope you will be EXCITED about it. Love you all with the love of my sweet Jesus!!! I hope you have a wonderful, blessing filled Sunday=D

Okay so, this has been a stressful few days. In three days I will start school (if things are cleared) and I have finally resolved that if things don't work out God isn't willing and I will back out from all of this and just continue on wherever God guides me. Other than that my sister is going through some pain and sickness with what we think is pancreatitis, and I have been finishing up my Intro to Grand Canyon University class. 

Oh by the way, SOFIE IS HERE!!!!! She made it here just fine and is settling in very well. We are so blessed and happy to have her here and now I just pray that God will pour into her through us while she is here. 

Now for the exciting stress. If you follow Great News!!!!! than you know that I posted a very long and pretty controversial devotional Tuesday. If you haven't read it here is the link straight to it ( http://didyouknowjesusisalive.blogspot.com/2014/08/it-matters.html) . This post has very interestingly caused some questions to arise from people I didn't expect them to arise from, and in ways I didn't expect them to come up. It has been pretty interesting. The only stress that really comes from this is the stress of trying to get it to so many people. I want everyone that is able to read or at least hear this devotional. I am praying for it to go viral so that it will reach millions maybe even billions of people.

Well, I should probably go to bed now so I can go to work in the morning. May the Lord bless you richly my sweet brothers and sisters! =D

P.S. I received my first letter from my pen-pal that I mentioned not too long ago, Erick. He is doing well and the Lord has answered prayers by way of a fellow believer in his platoon. He and his buddy talk about God and attend services together on Sunday's. He has asked that I continue to pray because even though he is having fun at basic it is very physically and spiritually challenging. Thank you so much for lifting up my friend! 

Here we go...

Well, the adventures are about to begin. In just about 12 hours we will leave heading for the airport to pick up Sofie (our exchange student). I think so far we have all been a bit excited AND a bit nervous but I think I speak for everyone when I say that the excitement is beginning to overcome the nervousness. I can't wait to see how God will use this opportunity. I know we will learn new things from her and I pray that God will use us to teach her some new things too. My biggest prayers are that God will surround her with Christian friends and that we will pour into her while she is here. 

Soon after she gets here we will have "move up" week at the daycare so my sister and I will get a room full of all new kids. On that same day I am supposed to post into my first college class and there is no telling where things will go after that. God has blessed us beyond measure and I can't wait to see what He will do next in our lives. Please pray for my family, Sofie and I as we all adjust to these BIG changes. I love you all more than you know even though I don't know 90% of you. I love you because you are my brother or sister in Christ:) 

I am going to try and post more on here than I have been lately but as I am sure you understand things are getting busier. BY THE WAY!!! Don't forget to check out Great News!!!!! Monday morning for the first new devotional of the 2014-2015 period:) I am SOOOOOOO excited to see where God takes all of this=D If you don't know what Great News!!!!! is just click on my name and it is the other link under my blogs:) 

Thanks for reading all the way through this and for your prayers:) May the Lord bless you and your family immeasurably, beyond all you could ever hope or imagine. Goodnight=D