Praise! Our house is selling!

It has been so nice to actually have Jake at home, even briefly. For those of you who don't know, Jake was in Miami for 21 days on business. He leaves again this Friday for another 25 days. This past Saturday we spent the afternoon on Mount Charleston. I thought I would include just a taste of our afternoon there. I am also including an update and some prayer requests at the bottom. As soon as I get my pictures off my camera from Sunday I will post Cora's baptism.

Mount Charleston just before sunset

Where the earth meets the sky. This picture was taken as we were leaving Mount Charleston, overlooking the mountain range across the valley. It's hard to tell where the earth ends and the sky begins.

Well, the biggest update is this past Friday, Oct. 17, we signed a contract on our house. This is, quite obviously, a huge praise! This is something we have been praying through for well over a year now, and to see the end in sight is almost surreal. There have been many emotions flooding through us over these months, but God has been faithful and we have trusted Him, knowing His ultimate plan would be fulfilled for His glory.
The good news about this sell is that the people want it done quickly. It is moving along smoothly and if everything continues to do so we will close Oct. 30th. Not having a house payment looming over us for next month is such a tremendous wait lifted off our shoulders.
The more difficult side of the news is that we were only able to get enough to actually pay off our house, nothing more. In order to sell it we are having to take out a loan for just under $16,000 to pay for the closing costs and realtor fees.
Friday was quite an emotional day for me. Fortunately no one else was home as I had a breakdown and cried uncontrollably for a good 30 minutes. I called my mom and cried to her, spoke with my mother-in-law and Jake. I couldn't understand why.
Why was God allowing this to happen? We moved here because after much prayer we felt beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was where God was leading us. We stepped out on faith and trusted Him to take care of us. Why, after all this time, was our house selling and causing us to have to take out an additional loan just to sell it?
I cried out to God for a long while. Jake was about to get on a plane in Miami, heading home, as I pondered allowed these questions to him. His response, "All I can say is we are being tested on every side. I'm having to live in Miami, separated from you and the kids; our house is selling, but with this huge stipulation....." he trailed off. I hung up with him, walked into the other room, questions and angry accusations still pouring from my soul.
I stopped long enough to catch my breath and at that moment heard a voice as clearly as if someone had been standing next to me speaking aloud. It simply said, "Trust Me."
And that was that. I had a peace, once again. God was telling me to trust Him, and so I would.

I began thinking after that moment...How many times do we cry out to God for different things? How many times do we throw our anger at Him, our questions at Him, but never actually stop to listen for His reply? We wonder why He is not listening, not answering, but in reality, it is us who are not listening. We get so rapped up in our problems that we don't allow Him to answer.

The thing is, God is big enough to take all our questions, He is big enough to take our anger, our frustrations. He wants us to come to Him with these things, He is there waiting. But He is also waiting with an answer, if we would just stop and listen for His response.

I am so thankful He allowed this situation to be a tool in reminding me of this.


He loves you, He sees your pain, your frustrations, your questions; and He is there waiting for you to allow Him to help. Our God is a gentleman, He will not force Himself on you. He allows each of us to choose whether we come to Him or not, but He is there, arms open wide, waiting.

Catching up on the last month

Well, it's been a few weeks since I've updated this thing.
I keep thinking something will happen that will be blog-worthy...something that will make this worth reading. So far that hasn't happened.
I decided I would write anyway. Let people know we're still alive and kick'n.
So, I thought I would put in a few pictures of things we've done since my last blog. We also have a few prayer requests that will be listed at the end.

Here we go. things we've done since our last blog:

The kids started back to school. Though JD was extremely excited about starting 2nd grade, he was not thrilled about me taking pictures to commemorate the occasion.


Cora, was very apprehensive about starting 1st grade, especially since they were starting at a new school. But she loves taking pictures.
They both had a great 1st day, and I am very impressed with their teachers. They are making friends and come home happy everyday and so far are still waking up each morning ready to go. This is such a blessing, since last semester was such an adjustment for them and neither really felt like they fit in.

We also have acquired a new pet. Her name is Claws (Cora named her). She is a praying mantis. This is a thing I never thought I would consider a pet...and yet, here she is, and she is so cute!

This is Cora playing with Claws. The next picture would have shown me untangling her from Cora's hair. She jumped into it.

I love this picture. This is Claws eating a cricket

It may seem gross, or weird even, to have a praying mantis (who eats the heads off live crickets) for a pet, but it has been quite a learning experience for us all. We have done research on the living and eating habits of mantids, we've observed her "preying" on her food, we've watched as she shed her skin and emerged 2ce the size she was moments before. She has been an excellent science experiment. We even learned how to tell male from female, which is why I can confidently say "she". We also believe that Claws is pregnant, and have found that Mantis broods can be anywhere from 50-200, so if anyone would like a mantis baby, please, let us know!


For Labor Day we went "adventuring". This is what our family has come to call our outings that we try to take at least once or twice a month. We head out to explore the areas surrounding Vegas. For Labor Day we chose to go jeeping. We found a great trail that went up through the mountains and down the other side into Parump. We got out and did some exploring in the desert along the way.
At the top of the mountain, in between 2 high peeks, there is a place called Wheeler Pass. It is the area where you can cross through from one side of the mountain to the other.

We had a great day...though long...all-in-all we made a 130 mile circle back around to our house. I made sure to sunscreen the kids before and during the trip, since we had the top off the jeep. I didn't, however, sunscreen myself. I was glowing by the end of the day!

This past Friday night NorthStar put on a concert with a band called Altar'd. They are an up-and-coming group that I am sure will be making major waves in the Contemporary Christian Music World soon. We were able to go out with them (to IHOP) after the concert. They are the real thing. These guys are sold-out for Jesus. Currently they are headed back to Nashville to cut their second album. They are also looking for churches to host their fall concert series. I would highly recommend them.

From left to right: Kyle, guitarist; Matt, lead singer; Jon, bass player; Blake, drums

I have started playing keyboard in the praise and worship team. I am enjoying being able to serve in this area, as I have missed being involved in choir at FBC, Rogers. Sometimes they even give me a mic and let me sing :) We're hoping to eventually get a new keyboard for the church. Right now I use the worship leader's keyboard on Sunday mornings.

Jake's mom was able to come in for the weekend, on her way home from being in LA. It was great to see her, even if it was briefly. We went to the Springs Reserve, which is a botanical garden area, and to the Natural History Museum. Both were very interesting, but I haven't had the chance to get the pictures off my camera yet.

So, I think this pretty much catches you up on our family. There are probably one or two other things that have happened along the way, but apparently they are not important enough for me to remember right now, so they are more than likely not worth reading either.


Prayer Requests:

• Our house selling (We lowered the price to $218,000 this week, this will pay off our mortgage, but we will have to take out a small loan to pay all the realtor fees and closing costs)
• Jake will be getting back into seminary starting in the October session. Please pray for his mental endurance. Last week he had a 28 hour work day, on top of his regular work schedule. Between having to work overtime on the job, preparing and leading Children's Church on Sundays and teaching Discipleship Bible Study on Wednesday nights he barely has time to breathe. He doesn't seem to have a problem with it, but the kids and I would like to see him more often
• I have applied with the Clark County School District as a substitute teacher. It is a long and complicated process. Please pray that if this is what God has in store for me that everything will go smoothly and that if I am accepted we will have the money for me to get my Nevada state teaching license to be able to begin.
• Pastor Mike and Jake are trying to plan a date and a way for Cora, and several others in the church, to be baptized
• Continue to pray that we actively look for oportunities to reach out to our community
• Pray for 2 girls in our youth, that they will begin to seek God and desire a relationship with Him
  

Praises:
OUR CHURCH FAMILY IS GROWING!

• Mary and her two kids. They attended the concert Friday night and came to church on Sunday. Her daughter loved Children's Church and wouldn't let Jake go at the end. Mary was excited about church and wants to start attending.
• Wilson, Michelle and their son, Brice. They visited for the 1st time last Sunday. After only one visit they volunteered to help at the concert Friday and were back in service yesterday. They are wanting to get involved more readily
  
• Lee and Susan. They moved from Washington for Lee's job. They have been visiting the church for about a month now and are wanting to join. Lee attended Bible study this past Wed. night and is feeling led to start a marriage ministry.
• David and his wife. They have been attending 3-4 weeks now. He plays acoustic guitar and asked to get involved in the Praise and Worship ministry. This past Saturday night he joined us at rehearsal and played with us on Sunday morning
• There are one or two other families new to the church who are also wanting to get involved. (Please pray that God will show them how they are to serve)
  

As always, thank you for your prayers and support. You are a vital part of our ministry here!

The Fantastic Four aka Mission Team from FBC, Rogers, AR

Well, after 2 delays, the team from First Baptist Church, Rogers arrived here around 7:00 PM last Wednesday night. Unfortunately, they were supposed to land at 4:00 PM, which is why I had arranged a dinner so that some families from NorthStar could get to know the group. I set reservations for 6:30, changed them to 7:00 when we discovered the plane was to land at 5:30 instead or 4:00 and then discovered, as I was leaving to go meet everyone at the restaurant, that the plane had been delayed further and wouldn't land until 6:59.
Some how I just didn't think that one minute would give them adequate time to get through McCarran International (one of the slowest airports to navigate), get their luggage, find the rental car desk, be shuttled to the rental car location and then travel 25 minutes north to our area of town.
Those of us waiting at the restaurant enjoyed our Bucca di Beppo, and Jake and the team arrived there as we were paying for our bills. At least they made it in time to go to the overlook of the city, where we had planned a brief prayer meeting. Each time I go there and look out over this city of 2 million it still amazes me. It seems so still and quiet from that elevation. All the twinkling lights, it looks as if you are looking down at the stars.
The team eventually got to eat dinner and got settled in at our house sometime after 10:00.

The goal of Thursday and Friday was to canvas area parks and shopping centers to get the word out about our Back to School Bash we were holding on Saturday. The temperatures were 108-109 both days, but they stuck it out. They were able to hand out close to 1,000 invitations to the party.


Thursday night we went downtown to the Rescue Mission, which is a homeless shelter. The shelter has free dinner every night of the week, open to anyone in need. Depending on the time of the month (earlier parts of the month don't have as many people because that's when wellfare checks are received) they serve anywhere from 150-400+ per night. The mission also has short-term housing--2 weeks, or long-term housing for those willing to enter their program.
The program consists of volunteering at the shelter, going to Bible studies, job training, etc. It really is a wonderful program that actually helps enable people, rather than just give them a free bed.


We served just under 200 people that night. I have never had the opportunity to go, because it is not safe for JD and Cora, but a friend offered to watch them for me. It really was an eye-opener. Especially when I saw a family come in with two small girls, about 4 and 5 years old, I would guess, a little boy who was barely a year old (and who only wore a saggy diaper) and a newborn baby, and by newborn I mean maybe a week or 2 old. I almost started crying. I wanted to take that newborn baby home with me.

How often do I complain because I have 2 house payments to pay and an electricity bill that shot out of the roof last month! Then I see that and it puts it all in perspective. I have 2 house payments because I have 2, yes 2 houses! God has blessed me with not one but 2 places I can live. I have an enormous electricity bill because God has blessed me with the ability to have air conditioning in a city whose temperatures sore well over 100 degrees during the summer months. I have a husband who has been blessed with amazing talents in the IT field, and therefore is able to work. Not only that, but for some reason God has chosen our family to serve Him as church planters in a city that many people have given up on. How humbling is that! Yes, our family struggles every month. I honestly don't know how I'm going to pay my 2 house payments coming up at the beginning of Sept., but He is faithful! He has blessed this family beyond words; well beyond what we deserve. And He has blessed you as well. We so often loose sight of this.
I would highly recommend finding your local shelter or food closet and volunteering there for a night. It really helps you find perspective. "Christ came not to be served, but to serve." We are called to do the same.

Saturday turned out to be a great success. The numbers weren't huge, by any means, but the contacts made were awesome. We were able to visit with and minister to several families. We had a water slide, a slip-n-slide, a giant bouncy castle, free food and snow cones. A good time was had by all.

Jake and Janelle (Pastor's wife) manning the slide, as Cora takes yet another turn

Hot dogs, chips, popcorn, water and snow cones were available under the tents

Two of our teenagers, Jordan and Harley, enjoying the giant bouncy-dog

In the end, everyone got in on the water play!

Because of all the canvassing done by the team and the great effort put forth at the Bash on Saturday, we had 5 families visit our church on Sunday! The children's area, which usually has no more than 10 kids (and 5 of those are staff kids) had 21 kids!!!
Total we had 69 people in attendance. That is the highest attendance we have ever had on a "normal" Sunday (as in non-holiday). It was so awesome to immediately see the fruits of labor. Jake, Mike and David are working this week to make contact with every visitor. Please pray that good contacts are made and that we will use the opportunities given to us to minister to those we are contacting.

Sunday was the last day of our VBS, Cactus Canyon. To celebrate, our pastoral staff dressed as cowboys. Don't they look good?From left to right, David Kanizar, Worship Leader,
Jake Bridges, Missions Pastor, Mike Ellis, Senior Pastor



The Fantastic Four with NSBC Staff and their families
To the left, the Ellis family: Thomas, Mike, Janelle, Alexa and Nathan
Back row: Darin Harryman, Jim Risenhoover, David Kanizar, Elaine Bridges, Chad Pratt, Cora Bridges and Lisa Kanizar. In front: Iris Epting, Jake and JD Bridges


The Fantastic Four with our familyFrom left to right: Iris Epting, Elaine Bridges, Darin Harryman,
Jim Risenhoover, Jake Bridges and Chad Pratt. In front: Cora and JD Bridges

I want to just take this time to thank the team for coming out. I hope they realize what an awesome impact they had. Also, thank you First Baptist, Rogers, for allowing them to come and for your support through prayer during this past week (and always). We would not be here and could not do what we do without the support of FBC!

Wednesday night, when we went to the outlook to pray over the city and for the upcoming week, Jake shared a brief message with the group. His references were:
Luke 9:51-56 and Acts 8:4-17
Summing them up, in Luke Jesus and His disciples were traveling to Jerusalem through Samaria, but the Samaritans refused them. James and John wanted to call down fire on the city. Jesus, however, did not allow this. Jesus knew the future, He knew that in time the area would come to believe in Him. In Acts 8, they did just that. Phillip was in the area and began to preach the gospel of Christ to them and they accepted it. Multitudes came to know the saving grace of the Lord.
Had James and John been allowed to destroy the city, hundreds of souls would have perished without ever getting that second chance.

In the same way, many people today have given up hope on Las Vegas (and New Orleans, and San Francisco, etc.). They believe that it is so full of evil that it should be destroyed. God, however, sees the big picture. Only He knows how many souls in this town need that second chance, need to hear about His love and grace. If we just give up on Las Vegas, how many thousands of souls will be lost that could one day be rejoicing with us in Heaven?

Don't give up on sharing the gospel of Christ. You never know what God has in store down the road!

Birthdays and Such

While Jake's parents were here we took them up into Cold Creek to look for wild horses. We saw some just a little ways off the road, so we got out to get a closer look. There was a small ravine between us and the horses and I told the kids not to get any closer...Then suddenly...

A horse started walking right up to JD and Cora. I've never seen two kids stand so still in their lives! JD said, "Cora, don't move!"










She didn't move an inch!














This is actually how close she got. I didn't have to zoom at all for this one.














Our family with Jake's parents, Jimmy and Belynda, in the desert just outside of Cold Creek.
















I never put pictures of me on here, so I thought I'd share one of
Jake and I up in Cold Creek, in the Spring Mnt. Reserve.





















The kids got home on Cora's 6th birthday. We went to Cozymel's, a Mexican restaurant in town, to celebrate. Happy 6th Birthday, Princess!














For JD's birthday he wanted to go to Redrock and do some hiking.




















Happy 7th Birthday, buddy!
























Just as a last kick I thought I'd show you the price of gas in Las Vegas! I took this picture of the price the person just before us paid. Fortunately gas has been coming down the last week. We were just about having to take out small loans to fill our tanks!








I hope everyone if having a great week. Next week a small group from FBC, Rogers, is coming. I'm really looking forward to spending time with them. Look for pictures from their trip in about a week and 1/2.
Please be praying for the mission team as they prepare to come and for their trip, that many will be reached for the Lord. Pray for our church family, that they will be bold in their faith and in sharing with those around them.
Please also remember to continue to pray for our house in Rogers to sell.

No more peace and quiet

So it's been a month since I returned from Arkansas (and updated this blog) and I have accomplished...nothing.
The kids got back on Wednesday night, which means my opportunity to complete the tasks I had set up for myself has passed. I am now, once again, in the world of "mommy". And since they haven't seen me in 4 weeks, they feel they have a lot (and I do mean a lot) of talk-time to make up.
But, it's good to have them home. Boy did they grow while they were gone, and Cora is so tan! She has this beautiful olive skin-tone that would make anyone (and by anyone, I mean me) jealous. She also lost her 1st tooth while she was gone. I hate that I missed that, but she mailed me the tooth, so it would be ready for the tooth fairy when she returned. (Both JD and Cora lost teeth while in AR., and decided that the tooth fairy may not know where to find them, so they chose to wait until they got home to put their teeth under their pillows...Speaking on behalf of a very money-conscious tooth fairy, I think the fairy could have found them in AR...our at least the fairy's mom could have, lol)
I did get our newsletter completed. If you did not receive a copy via email and would like one, or would prefer to have a hard copy mailed to you, please let us know.
I've started job-hunting. I hate this. I don't want to work. Really, I have zero-desire to have a job, and yet I find my self on monster, putting in search criteria. Yuck. I am praying fervently that our house in Rogers will sell with in the next 3-4 weeks. My once dream house has become a thorn in my side. I refer to it as "that stupid house" more and more often.

Cora turned 6 on Wednesday. It's hard to believe my baby is 6 years old! JD will turn 7 next Saturday. Where does the time go? Just yesterday when we were in the car Cora said, "Mommy, I want to be older; not too old, just about your age" (I really appreciated the "not too old comment", by the way). I responded, "Sweetie, you'll be there before you know it." (Let me just blink another couple of times.)

So now comes the tedious task of getting them back into some semblance of normalcy. No telling how long this will take. We've spent the last 2 days spending their birthday money they received from family and friends back in AR. This has not helped my case. But, at least I know I won't be bored between now and when school starts back up.

Our Trip to Razorback Country

Well, I had a great time being back in Arkansas for a few days, but after seeing some friends and family and being at FBC for church service I was ready to be back home...and when that thought hit me late afternoon on Father's Day my second thought was, "I actually want to be back in Vegas? Strange!" But, that's where Jake was, therefore that's home. Driving around Rogers the 1st couple of days actually didn't even feel like home to me anymore. I got into town Thursday night (6/12) and ran to Wal-Mart after dinner with Jake's mom. It's set up very much like my local WM and for a moment I actually thought I was in Vegas. Silly.
I really enjoyed being able to see friends and family, though I didn't see as many people as I had hoped. Church was AWESOME! It was wonderful to be able to hear Pastor Wes preach and the choir sing. The men's group that did a song at the end for Father's Day was absolutely amazing. I also enjoyed hearing Wade preach the second Sunday I was there. Being in FBC felt more home to me than anywhere else did while I was there.
I will be glad to be back at NorthStar this Sunday, though. The people there are my family now. We are a close-knit group, and I enjoy that. I don't think I would be able to survive out here if it weren't for my church family.

Just a few quick "funnies" to share from our trip back east....
We were about to land when Cora looked out the window and in a voice that was quite loud said, "look at all the grass and trees!" Everyone around us busted into laughter. (It was a direct flight, so they all knew where we came from)
Then, on our drive into Rogers we were passing through farm land and Cora starts yelling, "Mom, look, look, look!" I said, "What!" To which she responded, "COWS!" Ah, the things you forget about when you're living in a desert!
JD and Cora were so excited to see their friends at church. Apparently one adult overheard JD tell some of his friends, "I'm finally back home." Poor kid. He's going to hate the summer ending. I'm so thankful they are able to spend some extra time there and I really hope that if you are reading this and you have kids that are friends with JD and Cora that you will get in touch with my mom or Jake's mom and arrange a play date.

JD and Cora with their cousins, Addie Mae, Brooks and Wesley

JD and Cora with their friends, Grace, Presley, Tori and Neil


Cora was excited to get her hair done. Aunt Karyn did a wonderful job, as usual. Cora really wanted "pink" hi-lites. We settled on what can only be called, "rupple" (that would be reddish purple); and only on the very front. The other hi-lites are just blond. Yes, my not-quite 6 year old has hi-lites and colored hair! It's a combination of her having 2 aunts that are colorists, her vivid imagination, and the effects of us living in Vegas, I'm sure. :)

An up-close of Cora's new hair color


Jake is going to be traveling a lot over the next few weeks with his "day job". I was hoping to go with him to Miami while the kids are away, but an extra bill came in and took my plane ticket money away...so it looks like I'm going to be home alone for a week. Yippy! (note severe sarcasm) I was really looking forward to spending some time relaxing on the beach and having evenings with Jake. We haven't had a vacation together in over 2 years, and he doesn't have vacation time until next year, so this was going to be the closest thing to it. Oh, well.

Continue praying for our VBS coming up in July, and for the mission team from FBC, Rogers, that will be coming out in mid August.

I promise I'm going to settle down and get a "real" newsletter out within the next week or so.

Until then...

Lions and Flamingos and Dolphins--Oh My!

I have a few prayer requests to mention:
-The kids and I are flying back to AR on Thurs. (6-12), pray for traveling safety
-Jake is preaching this coming Sunday, please pray for him as he prepares his sermon and as he is home alone for 1 1/2 weeks
-A member of our church has been in the hospital with breathing problems. He is being released today, but is having to make some drastic life-style changes and will have to wear a mask at night for sleep-apnea
-Pastor Mike and his family will be traveling back from Wynn, AR this weekend, pray for traveling safeties for them
-A couple of unspokens

Once I get back from AR I PROMISE to get to work on a "real" newsletter and get it sent out the 1st part of July. I am sorry I have been negligent in getting them out. Moving 2ce in 5 months, along with all the other day-to-day "stuff" has really been something.


I've been trying to keep the kids busy since school's been out. I decided that we can't be in the house for extended periods of time after they tried to kill each other on Thursday. So, we've been to see lions, tigers and dolphins at The Mirage, we've seen flamingos and other strange birds at The Flamingo, we've had an up-close encounter with MGM's lion, we've met the blue M&M at M&M World, we've watched dancing fountains, we've walked through a tribute to America at The Belagio...all-in-all I'd say we've had a pretty good 1st few days of summer. I've included just a few pictures of our experiences over the past few days.

We went to The Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage on Friday


A Siberian Tiger...absolutely beautiful!


The dolphins loved having their pictures taken..and even came up and watched you if you had a camera





We also went to The Flamingo's "flamingo habitat"


A Black Swan--isn't it beautiful?



Flamingos


A really strange bird we saw


The MGM lion


I know it's hard to see...but this is the lion's foot as he walks over our heads. Just a thin piece of plexi-glass between us and him, and he's looking down at us with this look in his eye that simply says, "hmmm...lunch!"


JD and Cora with the Blue M&M


The Fountains at Belagio (with The Eifle Tower in the background)


The Belagio's tribute to America...complete with model trains, bald eagles and Mt. Rushmoore

Here's a picture of Jake and the kids...yes, I believe JD is kung-fu fighting, and Cora has apparently grown a horn...but what can you do?

One of these days I'll get a picture of me on here...maybe. It's not me you want to see anyway, it's the kiddos, so I'll just keep putting them on here.
That picture on our title is up on Mt. Charleston, by the way. It is so beautiful up there, and usually 10-20 degrees cooler than down here in the valley--bonus!
I purchased the plane tickets for the kids and I for next Thurs., so I guess our coming back is a done deal. The kids are excited to take their 1st plane ride. I'm just glad I don't have to drive 1300 miles with 2 kids asking me "how much longer"! Plus, the scenery gets pretty boring after awhile. There's only so much of I-40 you need to see before it all starts looking exactly the same; I can't hang my head out the window to take pictures while driving--all my fun's been taken away! And seeing that you have to take out a small loan to buy gas these days....well, flying just seemed like a much better idea all around!
Looking forward to eating me some good chips and salsa!!!

One of our favorite parks to visit

Well, school is coming to a close out here! I can't believe it. In some ways it seems like we just moved here, and now it's time for summer vacation to begin. I'm really looking forward to the end of school, though. In Las Vegas Kindergarten is only 1/2 day, so my day is pretty divided. I take JD to school at 8:50, Cora to school at 12:50, then pick them up at 3:20. The way it's laid out I don't really have time to do much of anything in between drop-offs and pick-ups. It will be nice next year to be able to take them both at the same time and have a full 6 hours to do things before having to pick them back up.
The kids and I are going to be going back to AR around the 13th of June or so. I'll stay a week, but the kids are going to stay a month. They are SO excited to be able to see family and friends during that time.

I'd love to see as many friends as possible while I'm there, so give me a call on my cell if you'd like to meet me at Maria's, Las Fajitas or Abuelos (which is where I'll be spending every meal, lol...I haven't found a really good Mexican restaurant out here yet, believe me, I've tried...and no one out here knows how to make salsa!)
Jake got me a new camera for Mother's Day, so as soon as I get it downloaded I'll be adding some more pictures to the blog. Stay tuned.
Please be praying for Jake as he plans for VBS.
Pray for our outreach for the summer, for our members to get involved and really be sold out for reaching our community for Christ.
I'll post pictures soon..and hope to see a lot of you in a couple of weeks!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers over the past few months, and especially the past few weeks. We were able to get out of our old house and into one that is much nicer and in a much better neighborhood.

Our house in Rogers has still not sold, but we are seeing a potential reason why God has allowed it to stay unsold. Without going into details now, we may have someone who could benefit from moving into it, so please be praying for that situation.

He continues to provide for our every need, at exactly the right time!

Every day I am almost brought to tears from the shear magnitude of His love for us,
so undeserved, yet so welcomed and utterly appreciated.

Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth" has been playing on my heart strings lately. Just for me to step back and allow Him to be God, allow Him to be exalted in everything I say and do.

Today, while I was taking JD to school a song came on the radio that said, "Not to us, but to Your name be the glory", Cora asked, "What does that mean, not to us, but to Your name?" So we had a nice discussion about giving glory to God and how He created each of us with special gifts and talents that we are to use for Him...that He placed each one of us here to fulfill a certain purpose, and ultimately that purpose is to bring Him glory.

It was an amazing conversation, and they both really got into it, asking questions and adding their thoughts and realizations to it.
God continues to use JD and Cora to humble me and to make me realize how true it is that we must become "like children".

Until next time...remember to stop...just stop...

Be still, and realize that HE IS GOD!

Playing at a neighborhood park on Tuesday after school

When we got there I said, "Don't get too wet...I didn't bring a towel or a change of clothes!"