TAG!

Lynn TAGGED ME!! Wow - Random/weird facts about myself.

1. I like to separate my m&m's by colors. Oh - and for Peanut m&ms - I bite half of it, pull the peanut out to eat separately then eat the other half.

2. I have over 15,000 songs in my music collection (roughly 400 cds and over 100 lps & cassettes, plus downloads) - that's just not enough.

3. I still twirl my flag and spin a rifle from my marching band days.

4. I color-code my calendar - that may not be weird, but it sure is a random thought

5. I was head-butted by a goat when I was little - maybe that's what's wrong with me. And THAT is random.

6. I can sleep literally anywhere. Just sitting still with nothing to do for more than a couple of minutes tends to put me to sleep.

7. I've been backstage at the Grand Ole Opry - met Grandpa Jones and a few other legends.

Ok- so now I'm supposed to tag a few others.

Jennifer

Kayla

Brittney

Lizzet

Feed Each Other

I got this in an email today...

A man was having a conversation with God one day and said, 'Lord, I would like to know what the difference is between The Light of your Truth and The Darkness of Satan? '

God led the man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the man's mouth water.The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.God said, 'You have seen The Darkness.'

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.The man said, 'I don't understand.'It is simple,' said God. 'It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.'

MORAL:We need our brothers and sisters in these critical days to help build each other up and stay spiritually strong. We may have our differences, but in order to remain in God's love and continue the flow of spiritual food to ourselves, we have to put aside those differences, resisting our tendency to harbor resentment, and search out ways to help each other. Otherwise, we will become so consumed with only helping ourselves that we may be inadvertently cutting off the only food that can keep us alive in this starving world.

4 Weeks and Counting!

I just can't tell you how excited I am about going to the Philippines in 4 weeks!

First - if I haven't already shared the amazing news - I'll tell it now. My WHOLE TRIP was taken care of in ONE DONATION check! It's incredible! I sent a letter to David Novak, CEO of Yum! Brands (the parent company of KFC - and I work for the Ad Co-op of KFC). On a prayer whim. I knew he attends Southeast - so an assumed Christian. And I just wanted to let him know what someone in his system was doing for Christ, and to pray for me & the gang on this trip. Well, I was shocked when Hank showed me a copy of the check last Sunday! I cried - I still cry if I talk about it. Needless to say, I am a little prouder to be a part of this company with a top leader so willing to give to this kind of mission - without even knowing me!!!!

God's just amazingly awesome! Never doubt that He will provide! And like a friend of mine told me - "Now you KNOW God wants you on this trip." I love it when God's obvious.

Here are a couple of pictures from a previous year's trip. Building churches, baptizing wherever there's water (the ocean provides lots of it!), having fun with the kids, loving on people, etc. I will be taking a video camera! Amy did such a good job with her Guatemala trip video I'm inspired.

I'm not sure about having a "heart for missions" yet. But I know I love to serve the Lord - wherever He puts me. And I'm also looking forward to 20 days with no computer. A tech-free season. Pray for me - my life will be changed for sure! In more ways than one I'd imagine...

Smallville's Back!

For those that are superhero junkies like myself - it's back - MY favorite show - SMALLVILLE! Season 7. And they've finally gotten Clark a job at the Daily Planet at a desk across from Lois Lane. I can't wait to see where they take this show this season. How true will they stay to the Superman and Justice League mythos? AND I love the way this show has tied in other heroes like Green Arrow (who is more of a regular now), the Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman and Black Canary. And there's always the villians - right now Lex Luthor is missing!

Walking With God

Where are you in your walk with God?

The Chocolate Hills

These are the Chocolate Hills located on the island of Bohol in the Philippines. Aren't they gorgeous! And I will get to view this site in real life during the trip!

I am so excited!!!! My trip is fully paid for - with extra to be able to give directly to the churches we help build. We'll be able to buy chairs, food, and any other necessities they may need to get started. I know I'm going to take some of Barry's special band music sheets for worship music. I'm sure someone will have a guitar around.

I got to see some pictures of past mission trips, so I will post those when I get them saved from disc. I know I'm taking a video camera so I can put together something cool when I get home. I've been told I will just fall in love with these people - and they will fall in love with me. And if the pictures are any indication, they love to be loved on and show love in return. And the team that is going -- needless to say, it will not lack for entertainment. And I'm sure all the positives totally outweigh the scary points - like bugs and creepy crawlies that are foreign to me. Not that I like the creepy crawlies that are around here! But the sights I'll get to see, and the people's lives I get to be a part of for those couple of weeks! I feel this will totally change my life - yet another way God works for the good! Who knows what'll happen...

New Spin on Old Favorite

Ok - fess up...how many used to watch Hee Haw - or the Grand Ole Opry - or use to actually do the dance....clogging? I've never done it myself, but I would love to learn all kinds of things before I go to heaven. Is there clogging in heaven? Here's a group that I LOVE to listen to, Uncle Earl, and their newest video:





And here's the classic clogging I grew up with:

Your Last Day

Wednesday night we gave the kids a Behavior Expectation list. This puts in writing what our expectations of them are: no PDA, no underwear showing, no foul language, no drugs - get along, etc. Ryan gave a message to the kids on expectations. And he touched on Ryan S. dying last week in a car wreck (which was very hard to do). Ryan S. didn't EXPECT Tuesday to be his last day on Earth. If he did - what would he have done differently? And that was one of Ryan's points. What would you do differently if you knew it was your last day to live here?

What would I do? Being a single person - my answer would be completely different from you married folks. But I bet there would be one similiarity - spend time with the ones you love. Let them know how much I love them, how much they mean to me. Although, I grasped this awhile back - I try to let people know how much I care NOW - why wait? And some I can only tell in-part, but I hope eventually they'll know in-full how much I care. Of course, I'd love to ride the Rock n' Roller Coaster one last time.


I listened to Dave Stone from Southeast on the way in to work this morning. And he talked about what would be on your headstone when you died. What would be your epitaph in 12 words or less? And I thought about that as well as my dad's funeral last year, and other funerals I have been to. My dad did not live his life for Jesus. He was not a good example of love. He only had 16 people there - 9 of which were there to support me. How many people will show up at my funeral? And how will they remember me? All the work I did - or did they really know me? Will there be flowers? And why can't I get flowers before I die?

But here's a question for you: What if YOU knew it was MY last day on Earth? What would you do differently? What if you knew it was your spouse's last day? What would you do differently? What if you knew it was your parent's last day? Your child's? Your siblings? Your best friend? That "loner" in the corner? The troublemaker? Your enemy? What would you do?

My new Bible is here!

My bestest friends gave me money for my birthday and said let us know what we got you. Well, it just so happened I knew exactly what I wanted! One of the ladies brought in a Chain Reference Bible to women's study...and I loved it! I love study Bibles anyway, and the chain reference leaves out the commentary on the bottom. Because those commentaries can be wrong - we found some examples. And I wanted a meaty translation - something that's real close to the original language (I haven't had time to learn Hebrew and Aramaic and Greek), but I also notice they had some "handy" sizes available. So I chose the Personal Size New King James Version. It's almost exact to the New American Standard which I love. But this Bible is just too cool! Talk about taking a journey in the Word! And it has a topical index which I like, and charts a concordance and maps. When I opened my package today I noticed it already came with tabs. Now normally I'm not a fan of tabs just because I like to push myself to KNOW where it is in the book and not rely on the tabs. But until I get the flow of this particular book down I can get used to them. I love getting in the Word - I've already started a new journey with this book and can't wait to see what's revealed!