amen

"Rest In His Promise"
By: David Ruis

When the sun's brightly shining, and it's touching my face
And Your favor is resting, and it seems all is grace

Bridge:
I will lift up my eyes and give glory to Your name
And I'll rest in Your promise over me

Verse 2:
When the sunlight has faded, and the darkness' my friend
And the sorrows are rolling, and the suffering just won't end

Verse 3:
When the wars and the rumors are encircling the earth
And Your judgments are falling, and there's no where to turn

Chorus:
You are sovereign, Lord
You are holy, Lord
You are faithful, Lord

Verse 4:
When the heaven's are opened, and You ride like the wind
And Your kingdom of justice, it will come without end

alone

i'm ashamed to admit that most of the time i live my life as if Christ alone is not enough...

that i have to rely on myself and/or others to fill in the gaps- to make things happen- to plan how things should go.

how long is it going to take me to really realize that He is all i need? that His grace is enough? how many times do i have to say it out loud until both my head and my heart really believe it? how many times will i stumble and fall? how many mistakes will i make? how long will it take me to realize this truth?

i am always reminded in the "bad" times of this...of how small i am and how big He is...but that is quickly forgotten when life is good again and all is right in my world.

i hate that i find it so easy to get caught up in my own life and my own little world- so easy to forget that life does not revolve around me and my wants, that there is more going on besides my petty complaints, that i am not the only person with problems and frustrations and heartaches, that what i struggle with has been struggled with before, that i am not the only one who has ever tried to handle things like this before.

as i actually type this out, i realize how pathetic it sounds...how dramatic it is...how selfish it really is...and how much of a difference it makes to just take a step back from your life to actually be able to see the reality of it.

so i guess i just need to be reminded that alone, i am never enough. i will never be enough to fulfill my dreams, my needs, my shortcomings...

and the good news in all of this is that i am never alone (even if i feel like it sometimes) and how grateful i should be that i personally know (and love...and am loved by!) the One who will never leave me or forsake me- who sacrificed the One He loved the most, for me- whose love is unconditional, mercy is abounding, grace overflowing, and faithfulness perfect...

JESUS, you alone are my portion...help me to not forget this...

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, " The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for Him."
Lamentations 3:22-24

wondering on wednesday

...if it is corny to have a themed post each week like this?!

what do you think?

book suggestion

i just finished a great book...

i definitely recommend it. it really opened my eyes to what is going on in liberia and remind me yet again how blessed i am to have grown up in america.

if you get a chance, check out this book!

ant piles and mud puddles

football practice was quite unique today!

to start things off, i just want to say a big thank you fay for dumping unnecessary amounts of rain upon us, for too many days in a row, making our football field a giant pond and forcing us to practice somewhere else...

...and thank you to the incredible 30 minute intense downpour this afternoon right before practice began to give our new practice location a few more inches of standing water.

so after wading out to watch practice, i discovered something else that came to practice...a very unwanted guest...ANTS! little, red and hungry fire ants! ahhhhhhh!! they were everywhere!! the boys were freaking out. it was actually a little amusing to watch one of them run from the team every few minutes into a puddle and stomp around screaming like little girls! one of my sweet kids had over 65 bites/welps all over his torso! poor guy was bit up!!!!!

so in case you're ever looking for the largest colony of ants in jacksonville or the largest practice puddle known to man, i know where to find them both!!

all of this fun, on a monday, AND on only 3 hours of sleep...whew! is this a taste of what the rest of the week is going to be like?!? if so, i better get to bed now...

summer of stupidity, part 2!

zipper disaster part two occurred in the airport in franfurt, germany. we were heading through security on our way to catch our flight to moldova. the security guard pulled me aside to inform me that my zipper was down, yet again. really?!?! sheesh!! to make matters worse, it was stuck! i couldn't get it to zip back up!! again, attempting to laugh it off, i headed off to the water closet to fix my pants! i'm sure that i gave the german security guard something to smile about all day...it definitely brought a smile to mine and kelli's faces throughout our trip.

well, i thought the summer was pretty much over and hopefully my run of ridiculous events...but i was wrong...very wrong! last weekend i spent some time in maine with my family. we all went to breakfast together saturday morning. it was a great little local place...little being the key word! the twelve of us there pretty much took up the entire dining room. i was trying to be a good cousin and take pictures to document our time together when disaster struck. i had to keep backing up to get the whole group in the shot. i stopped when i felt a wooden highchair behind me. i was barely touching the highchair and about to take the picture...1...2...3...collapse! the entire chair crumbled and i tumbled...taking a picture of the wall in the process! my family was hysterical. i was stuck in the rubbish. the rest of the customers staring and laughing!

The last event happened when amber and I flew back in from maine. we landed around midnight and it was pouring rain. we left the car at a park and ride lot, the cheapest one around, and it was a little bit of a shady place. the shuttle picked us up and drove us back to the office to pay. the office was a single wide trailer with about five steps to climb to get to the door. the rain continued to pour down. we ran in, paid, and were running back out to the car. i hit the first step and then the rest, with my butt! i slid down them all, landing in a puddle at the bottom. everything in my purse spilled. i was soaked, my backpack was soaked, my purse was soaked...amber was hysterical. i had done it again! sore, wet, exhausted, and the only thing left to do was laugh!

i'm sorry to disappoint those of you who thought i was cool and had it all together...i am quite the opposite. i am clumsy and dorky...but i'm real. that's who i am and what you see is what you get! i hope my stories brought a smile to your face...they definitely do to mine! :)

summer of stupidity

i have always been known to be a bit clumsy. cool was never a word used to describe me. this summer i definitely maintained my status of being klutzy and uncool.

at one point in my life i would have been to embarrassed to publicly list the incredible events that took place this summer...but i've out grown that. now i just want to share my life experiences with anyone who'll read them.

it all started at the mall of georgia. it was the night before staff training began for superWOW. a group of us had gone to see kung fu panda. we were leaving, when WHAM! i walked right into a light pole. i definitely don't recommend talking, walking, and texting at the same time. it can be dangerous! it was a great way to introduce the new staff to the real me...

next, i ran out of gas on jekyll island. this doesn't seem too bad, but wait. i was on my way to a devotion with a church with our camp illusionist, drew. we were already running late, so running out of gas was definitely an inconvenience! we had to call for a ride, borrow a car, and finally made it to the devotion! what a night! the poor church had waited up for us! i had to explain what happened and felt like such a moron!

the next event happened with drew too. (poor guy!) the entire staff was meeting for our last dinner together at scott's house. i walked in to the living room and drew called me over to tell me something. brace yourselves...this is mortifying...he had to tell me that my zipper was down. what am i a 5 year old?! who ever forgets to zip up their pants anymore? needless to say i turned about twenty shades of red, zipped up my pants, and tried to laugh it off!

i have decided to split up the silly stories...tune in for part 2 soon!

seriously?!

it won't stop raining!!!!!!!!

blustery day

fay is here, blowing jacksonville all around...

...i wish i could show you guys the trees outside my window, but it's too dark out!

thankfully we've only had rain and wind so far. our power hasn't gone out and our area isn't flooding (yet). mom and dad lost power down in altoona, probably due to the abundance of trees and their closeness to the power lines...

as i type, things are starting to pick up outside...the gusts are coming more frequently and with a little more force! and we're expecting more rain tomorrow...

i still have to go to work tomorrow, but school and practice has been canceled again ...the poor football team hasn't been able to practice ALL week!

please keep praying for everyone in fay's path!

UPDATE: it is currently 7 am and i am sitting at work...after driving through the TROPICAL STORM! seriously!?!?!? ahhhhhhhh!!

wondering on wednesday

if you could be anywhere other then where you are right now, where would it be?!

Fay, Fay, GO AWAY!

here she comes, ready or not! tropical storm fay is making her way up and across florida...with the potential of turning into a hurricane!

jacksonville is currently under a hurricane watch. schools are being closed and after-school activities cancelled...but don't you worry, i'll be at work tomorrow- storm or not!

well, i'm off to semi-prepare the house for fay! please keep jacksonville and everyone else in the storm's path in your prayers!

Psalm 34:18

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

breaking the law

not really...

but...

i am doing something i've never done before...

BLOGGING AT WORK!!!

i feel so adventurous! haha!

well, i just wanted to let people know i'm still alive. i have been busy! but there are lots of things to catch you up on!!

more to come soon!