Down on the farm...

Last Saturday, we took a family trip to the pumpkin patch. We went to Beggs Family Farm in Sikeston for the day. My mom and dad, Jason's mom and dad, and Jason and Jamie went with Jason, Emma, and I. We had such a blast! There was so much there for Emma to do. She got to pet a LOT of animals (here's a picture of her feeding the goats), see some pig races, and ride a little "farm train." We rode out to the pumpkin patch and picked our own pumpkins and had lunch (fried taters and turkey legs...YUM!). Emma even picked out a pumpkin for the new baby. It was a beautiful day and it awesome to be able to spend it together with family!

Group Fellowship

Last night was our Group Fellowship at Scott and Tonya Minson's house. If you don't go to Meadow Heights, you probably have no idea what the heck a "Group Fellowship" is, so let me explain. We're in the middle of the Imagine campaign at church. Our Life Groups are still meeting every week, but this particular week our groups are getting together with 3 or 4 other groups and meeting at one home. My dad and Greg Amelung are meeting with us and sharing with us what the Imagine campaign is all about. I enjoyed our Group Fellowship last night so much! It was so awesome to get with several other groups and listen to Dad and Greg as they shared their hearts about what God is doing at Meadow Heights.

I feel so priveleged to be able to be a part of this campaign. Jason and I are pumped about what God is going to tell us concerning how we are to be apart of the giving campaign. We feel so blessed because God has performed such a financial miracle in our household. Three years ago, we were in so much debt it wasn't even funny. As a matter of fact, we figured up that if we never used our credit cards for another purchase, and simply paid the minimum payments on everything until it was all paid off, it'd be another 40 years before we were totally out of debt. God really spoke to us about our finances and helped us make some wise decisions to get ourselves out of a financial pit. I praise God for speaking so clearly to both of us and helping us stick to our plan! I'm happy to report that 3 years later, we are completely out of debt except for our mortgage on our house. Isn't God stinkin' awesome???

It's so cool to know that now that we've freed up our finances, we can give a bigger sacrificial gift than we could've before. I realize that God doesn't care about the amount; what he cares about is the sacrifice. It's such a blessing to us just to know that now we can be an even bigger part than we could've before. We're so thankful to God for helping us get our finances in order, and we just want to give back to Him for being so generous to us. He's given us so much, how could we ever repay Him? WE CAN'T!!! There's no way we can ever repay Him for even part of what He's given to us, but we can sure get a kick out of trying. I'm looking forward to the blessing I know God is going to give us for honoring Him with our lives--and our money.

BIG NEWS!!!!

Jason and I found out this weekend that we're going to have another baby! We're so excited! We've been trying to concieve for six months now, and finally, we get to share our news with everyone. We can't wait to see who God has sent to be a part of our family. We'd really like to have a boy this time, but another girl would certainly be a blessing as well. It was so fun explaining to Emma that we were going to be getting a "real baby" at our house. She's spent all weekend talking to my belly and telling me how she's going to be changing diapers and feeding our baby bottles. She looks in my belly button and says, "Hi, Baby!" Every time she walks past me she wants to look in my belly button and kiss my belly. I hope she's still excited when the baby finally gets here and takes up a little of her space as the center of attention!

You know, God uses all kinds of things to get our attention. Like I said before, Jason and I had been trying to get pregnant for six months. I was so disappointed every month when it didn't happen. A few weeks ago, I was sitting in church, and I heard God speak to me loud and clear. I was disappointed about the fact that I was having trouble getting pregnant, and God said to me very clearly, "Why haven't you asked Me to help you get pregnant?" The only answer I could muster up was, "Well, I don't really know." So I started asking Him. The next month, well, here I am, pregnant as I can be! I forget that God doesn't just want to hear our "big" prayers. He also cares about our everyday stuff. Sometimes all He wants us to do is ask Him to be a part of things! I'm so glad He spoke to me that morning, and I'm so glad I listened!

My mom figured up that I should be due on July 28. I'm not very excited about being huge and pregnant in the hottest part of the summer, but I'll take it. I decided I'll just have to get one of those double floating rafts and hang out in the pool all summer. I'm not looking forward to the maternity swimming suit either...maybe I'll just find a muu muu instead... Anyway, I wanted to make sure and share our news with everyone--God is awesome!

Elmo

Last Saturday, Fredericktown had their annual chili cook-off. We read in the paper that Elmo was going to be at the cook-off and when we asked Emma if she wanted to go see Elmo that's all she could talk about all morning. She was so excited to see him, but only at a distance. Once it was time to have her picture taken on his lap, she didn't want anything to do with him. The only way we could get her picture was if I was in the picture with her, and then she wanted to sit on my lap farthest away from him. Poor Elmo!

Go...

When I think about launching the new AV campus at our church, it's so exciting to think that God is allowing us to be a part of it! I'm so thankful for our church leaders who are listening so closely to what God has to say and who are at the front of the lines when it comes to stepping out and trying something new. I must admit at the same time though, it's quite scary and a little overwhelming! I know that having faith in God should calm all those fears, but I'd be lying to say that change is always easy! When all this talk about starting a new AV campus came up, all I could think about was, "Wow, that's awesome, but God you better not ask me to go because I'm not leaving my church." I had to get used to the fact that the AV campus IS the same church, just in a different town! Now, I'm pumped about the new building and campus, and I'm really pumped about the coffee area at AV! (JUST KIDDING.) No really, I'm so excited about what God is doing in our church and I pray that God will show me just how I can be a part of it all.

I'm still reading Just Walk Across the Room. I'm about half way through. Remember, I have a two year old at home... Sometimes I feel like an idiot because I don't have the right words to spout out to someone when the subject of God comes up, but I forget that showing Jesus to someone is not always, or most often, taking someone all the way down the Roman Road! Just sending someone a note in the mail to brighten their day or to give a kid at school a side hug when they've had a bad day is just as much showing God's love as leading someone through the sinner's prayer. I pray everyday that God will help me to continue to see those moments of opportunity that I tend to pass up when I feel like I'm too busy to slow down!

Football Fridays...

This picture of Emma and Jason was taken last Friday night at the Fredericktown football game. Emma loves going to Uncle Jasy's "gall games!" Hey, a huge shout out to the Blackcats this season! They're now 7-0 for this year! I'm super psyched about the play-off games they're headed for!

What???

But when you pray, go into a quiet room, and close the door??? (Matthew 6:6, paraphrased by me...) I know these words came from Jesus, but I'd like to ask him if he momentarily forgot the fact that he created 2 year olds to be loud and nosey. There is no quiet in our house, and there certainly is no closing the door. I know all mom's can empathize here--I can't even use the bathroom by myself, much less go into a room for more than 2.2 seconds without a little shadow. Don't get me wrong, I love Emma more than life itself and I wouldn't trade her for the anything in the world. Still, it does make it hard to find even just a few minutes to spend with God. I know I'm not the only mom who has ever experienced this, but it's been on my mind for the last few weeks.

Last year at school we incorporated a sustained silent reading time into every class day. This year, because of losing so much instrucation time, they took it away from us, and I really miss it. I decided though, that since I teach reading, I could just put that SSR time back into my day because I want to. I really looked forward to that time every day and it was a chance for me to sit in the quiet and read God's word and talk to Him. Granted, I'm in a room with about 25 teenagers, but the way I see it, it's better than nothing. At least it's quiet. I think it's a great idea for you to get up in the morning and have your quiet time with God early, but for some of us, it's truly not practical. I'm not a morning person. If I get up too early, or don't get enough sleep, I'm not very nice. It's not worth sacrificing everyone's day! I'm excited about implementing SSR back into my school day. I miss my time with God. I miss my few moments of quiet, even if I am sharing with a bunch of smelly teenagers...

My prayer for today: God, help me to get back in the habit of spending time with you every single day. Help me to make it a priority and put a void in my heart when I miss it. Help to come to You every day with an open heart and willing spirit. Speak to me.

Finally...

Ok, well, I think I finally have my new blog figured out. Now if I can just remember to write in it on a regular basis, I think it'll be good. I'm more excited about having a blog to keep up with what's going on in other people's lives. I feel "out-of-the-loop" sometimes, so I'm excited to snoop and find out what my friends are up to!

I'm still reading "Just Walk Across the Room." I know we were technically supposed to be finished with the book a couple weeks ago, but being the mom of a 2 year old makes quiet time at home a little limited. I'm learning a lot though about how to just look at others and try to figure out what I can do to make them feel good about themselves or make them feel special. I think that when you're a member of a Life Group that functions as it should, you automatically get that feeling that you're loved and that you have a group of people who are there for you. I feel bad for those who haven't found that comfort yet for whatever reason. Whether it's because they haven't been compelled to join a Life Group yet, or whether they just don't feel connected to the group they're in, these people are truly missing out. That's why I've lately felt very strongly about doing the "little things" for people who don't know God. They may not have anyone in their life who realizes the importance of doing the "little things" that make you feel loved. I realize that anyone who reads this blog will probably think it sounds like a bunch of crazy ramblings, and it is. I have a lot going on in my head right now that a few people know and most wouldn't care anyway. At least I know where I'm coming from...

Welcome to the world of technology...

Well, I must say this is new to me. I'm not very technologically savvy, so what would take a normal person just a couple of minutes to figure out has taken me almost an hour. However, I'm now here I plan to keep up with my blog to let everyone know what I'm up to. I think this will be more of an outlet for me more than anything. Sometimes it's hard for me to put exactly what I'm feeling into words, and sometimes I really just don't want to talk about things. I think that if I can post how I'm feeling here, it might help some of my frustrations, and maybe I can leave them here, online, instead of taking them home with me to try and sort out later. It will probably be pretty boring to most other people, but maybe in the long run I'll be able to get a little feedback and insight from those of you who seem to always know what to say when I need a little truth spoken into my life.