Reasons why I LOVE Thanksgiving break...

*Sleeping in
*The meal (AND leftovers...thanks Patty and Dawn!)
*Lots of reading
*Creating cards
*Seeing Ivy
*Movie with Hugh ("Quantum of Solace"...it was aight)
*staying up late
*catching up on TiVo
*working out with Tricia
*watching football with Luke
*Christmas shopping (this was minimal people...I dont do the crowds)
*a clean house
*putting up Christmas decorations
*talking with a lot of friends
*making chili and cornbread...it was good!
*re-doing my blog!

*Today I am thankful for a couple of days off so I could get all the previous things listed done!

Give Thanks...

I love Thanksgiving. It's a great time to reflect on all the things we should be thankful for. Not to mention great food, awesome naps and some sweet left overs. This year I spent the morning at home. My roommate is out of town for the weekend so I slept in, read, worked out and then went to the Iverson's this afternoon to have Thanksgiving with them. They had a few friends over and it was a good time.(they also had three types of turkey: deep fried, rotiserre, and regular) Afterwards I stopped by Pam and Mark Curries with Kelli and Matt and then I headed over to my friend Patricia's house to spend a little time with her.

It was a great day to be reminded of all the reasons I have to be thankful which are many. I have an abubdantly blessed life.

Would You Rather Wednesday?!?!

Would you rather have a neck like a turkey (for some people this would be known as a double chin) or instead of laughing you would gobble?!?! Death in not an option. (things to consider: extra skin constantly dangling from your face or weird looks when people hear you gobble.)

*Today I am thankful for Hugh and Luke who force me out of my routine and make me live a little!

It's back....Holla

My TMC Family...

I know I talk all the time about how I love the people in my office but I really love the people in my office. I thought this was a sa-weet picture of us. I'm going to go from left to right and tell you a little tid-bit about this crazy family of mine and why I love them.

Kristin: She's our newest member and always has a smile. She's a learner and she has a love for people. She is an encourager of me and I have enjoyed seeing our friendship grow. Great sense of humor too.

Hugh: I've worked with him the last four years. First as a student then I hired him as paid staff. I've adopted him as my little brother and have appreciated his wisdom. He calms me down when I need to relax and tells me when I am being dramatic. Love it Hugh!

Megan: Megan was my first official hire as Director. What a blessing she is. She is so loyal to me and is a great friend and confidant. She has shared all the ups and downs with me the last four years. A true sista!

Luke: I Love this kid! He's become my little protector. He's always looking out for me and is one of the most caring people in my life. He's the entertainer of the office...you never know what is going to happen next with him. He is a blessing to me.

John Melcon: John is dilligent in all he does. I have grown to appreciate him so much the last six months. He is brillant (I'm learning more and more). He's faithful and he is the voice of reason in the office.

John Spring: One of the sweetest,most generous and BEST gentleman that I've ever met. A great friend and he's always looking out for me. He is the caretaker of the girls in the office and I adore him.

Steve Crawford: This kid makes me smile. The whole office enjoys him and appreciates his honesty and willingness to be "real". Steve is caring. He is always seeking me out to see how he can serve me and wants to please me.....I appreciate him.

I am blessed by this group! They have shown me so much love the last few weeks/years and I couldn't ask for more. It's a joy to come to work with them everyday! A defintie blessing from the Lord!

Would You Rather Wednesday?!?!?!

Would you rather give up your favorite comfort food for the rest of your life or give up listening to your favorite singer/group for the rest of your life?

*Today I am thankful for my time with Tricia and Jenny last night... I LOVE YOU GIRLS!!!!!

I Still Believe...

It has been a hard couple of weeks for me! I always debate in my mind what to "share" in cyber world but the people that love me read this and know my struggles anyway so why not share things on my blog knowing that you all pray for me. (if you don't pray for me please start! :))

Today at the college I received some difficult news. One of my beloved collegues, Bill Merrill, died of a massive heart attack last night. I just spoke with him yesterday afternoon and we shared some laughs together. He leaves a wife and two young children. He was our VP of Development. An amazingly brillant man who LOVED TMC. He was doing amazing things here and I loved working with him.

Today I am reminded as I have EVERY DAY the last couple months that God is soverign in control of ALL things and that He is good. This is a profound loss for many people here at the college and my heart is sad. Yet, I can say I Believe that God is in control and knows what is best. He has a plan that is for our benefit! "Trust in Him at ALL TIMES you people, pour out your heart before Him, God is a refuge for us." Psalm 62:8

Through all the sadness and trials over the last few weeks, the Lord has been refining me and has given me a peace that surpasses my undersanding. He has gifted me with JOY and with my sadness there remains gladness! My pastor has been talking about joyful suffering. It has really impacted the way I have been thinking and I'm realizing that it is a battle of the mind. It's a discipline.

*Pain and the way we respond to it reflects who we are.
*Your mind drives who you are (Provers 23:7) (Phil 4:8)
*Your success in trials depends on how much you feed and renew your mind with the Word.

Ecc. 7:3 says "Sorrow is better than laughter for by a sad countenace the heart is made better." This has been true of me! No matter what the circumstances or the trails that God allows into my life...even though I don't understand God is Good. I know that He is working and I choose to trust in him and renew my mind with things that He has promised me.

Please pray for Bill's wife Holly and their two young children during this time.

Hebrews 12:2 "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

I was looking through my journal today and re-read some statements that impacted me. I thought it would be good to share it with everyone. I hope these are great reminders for you, I hope they encourage and even convict. (*I didnt come up with any of these on my own...I'm not going to "site" each one)

1. God does as He pleases and that which pleases Him is always for our good and His glory.
2. It is one thing to know that no person or circumstance can touch us outside of God's soverign control, it is still another to realize that no person or circumstance can frustate God's purpose for our lives.
3. What's the point in adding years to your life if you aren't adding life to your years.
4. Prayer is the acknowledgment of God's soverignty and of our dependance upon Him to act on our behalf. Prudence is the acknowledgement of our responsibility to use all legitimite means.
5. Where faith is deficient the gospel is sufficient.
6. Joy is NOT related to circumstance.
7. The only thing standing between the command of God to rejoice and our experience of that joy is a sinful heart...a heart that delights more in the things of the world than in God. And if we try to excuse our disobedience by saying, ‘I can’t rejoice in God because I have a sinful heart,’ our words will not excuse us; they will condemn us.
8.Revival is not some emotion or worked-up excitement; it is rather an invasion from heaven which brings to man a conscious awareness of God.
9.Whereve you are, be all there.
10.God never said doing His will would be easy, He only said it would be worth it.

*Today I am thankful for the Sharpes....I love this family and am thankful that they love me too!

Party at Aunt Hollie's...

Last night Ivy was going to spend the night with me and we decided to invite her friends Tate and Ewan to join us. We met them at the mall with their mom (and my fab friend) Lynn. We ate dinner, went and picked out a toy at the Disney store and then came back to my place for a movie. They were so excited. It wasn't a great nights sleep but fun for the kiddos. Special thanks to my roommate Mandy for being such a trooper!

*Today I am thankful that I woke up to a sweet little voice saying "I love you Hollie" and a sweet little kiss.

Would You Rather Wednesday?!?!

Would you rather never be able to complete a thought or never let your mind rest? Things to consider: conversations with friends and sleeping.

*Today I am thankful for and overwhelmed by the way my friends love me. I am exceptionally blessed.

My Baptism...

I was baptized last night at Grace Community Church. It was aweome. The following was my testimony.

I grew up in a Christian home but never fully comprehended the extent of my sin or what the Lord saved me from. I was in church two to three times a week but never made Christ my own. I said I was a Christian but my actions and motives didn’t reflect a person who was truly saved and placing their faith in Jesus Christ. As I got older my desires and pursuits outweighed what the Lord commanded of me and what I knew His Word required of a believer. I said I believed the Gospel but my life and attitude didn’t reflect it. My mouth would say one thing but my actions would do something else. I went through the motions of being baptized in junior high but continued to live a life of sin. I would outright sin against God, knew what I was
doing was wrong yet continued to do it anyway. I lived a life of self-glorification, pride, lust, deceit, and anger to name a few. I never took responsibility for my actions and would look at others and blame them for my own sin. It wasn’t until I came out to California and was under solid biblical teaching that my heart and mind started to become transformed.

Being under the teaching at Grace Community and seeing how the gospel is lived out,
impacted me. God began to reveal himself to me in many ways. Psalm 49:15 says:
“But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For he shall receive me.” The Holy Spirit was convicting me of my sin and my wrongful thinking. I began to understand what the Church really is and what it means to live a transformed life for Christ. My motives and desires began to change and Christ became a central part of my life. I began to see more of my sin and hate it! I can’t give the exact time when I was saved but I know without a doubt that I am.
My hope and trust are in Christ and Him alone. Romans 5:5 “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” My heart is overwhelmed with God’s love and goodness to me. I battle my sin daily and am overwhelmed that the Lord loves me and choose to save me.
I no longer seek my own sinful desires and wants but look to the Lord to control and lead me.
My thoughts, motives and actions are a reflection of loving, following and serving Christ.

Romans 10:10 “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.” Over the past six months the Lord has been leading me
towards being baptized. Today I am being baptized out of obedience to my Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ.

*Today I am thankful for all my friends who came to support and love me!

Trials will come...

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whevever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be complete not lacking anything." James 1:2-4
God has been so gracious to me lately. It is certainly true that he brings trials into my life to refine me and turn me to Him. It seems that lately I've seen so many people around me going through different trials and adversities. God has been really teaching me about my lack of faith and trust in Him. I have been so encouraged by His words and how he has fulfilled His promises to me. For example, Isaiah 26:3 says "He will keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You." I love this verse because it's the Lord telling me that if I choose to trust in Him then He will give me peace if my mind is stayed on Him. This has been a hard one for me as I like to be in charge of all areas of my life. God has been showing me that I need to trust in Him and wait for him to direct my paths. As Christians, we are to pursue with diligence the will of God. To do this requires perseverance. Perseverance is the quality of character that enables one to pursue a goal in spite of obstacles and difficulties.

We must believe that God is soverign. Learning to trust God is a matter of will and is not dependant on feelings. It's a matter of faith. If you pursue that then God will give you perfect peace because our mind is on Him. I know this is a battle! Trusting God isn't a passive state of mind! It's a choice of the mind and soul where we choose to hang onto the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seek to overwhelm us.

We must always remember that God's character DOES NOT change! He is unchanging, eternal, wise, LOVING, kind, compassionate, just, patient, HOLY, jealous for his own honour, perfect in every way, and omniscent. He knows our trials because He allowed them for our good and His glory. We must cast all our anxiety on Him because He cares for us! (1 Peter 5:7)

As we all continue to persevere through the different trials that He brings us let's not lose sight of the cross and His truths. Praise the Lord that we have Hope and that it's all out of our control.

*Today I am thankful that I can rejoice always, pray without ceasing and in EVERYTHING give thanks! This is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us!

Can You Be Assured of Heaven?

PREACH IT J MAC!

*Today I am thankful for the Truth of God's Word.

Would You Rather Wednesday?!?!

Would you rather be three feet to the right of where you actually are or not exist on April 23rd of every year? Death is not an option. Things to consider: the feeling of never being in the right place and always veering towards the left and/or having your family and friends freak out every year when they can't find you (which could potentially cause them to send you to the looney bin).

*Today I am thankful for the cool air outside.

I had to share these pictures of the nieces and nephew. They are so cute.

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Today I am thankful for the promise of Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You; Because he trusts in You."