Trunk or Treat!

Happy Halloween!! Yesterday was trick or treat in the good ole' town of Salem, and our church had it's 14th year of Trunk or Treat. For those of you who may not be familiar with this, it's basically a semi-circle of cars and the kids start at one end of the circle getting one piece of candy from each car so by the end they have a nice handful of candy. Each car is decorated for Halloween, but with nothing scary. 3D Youth decorated my car, and we had a blast, even though it was FREEZING! We got to meet people in our community and have big smiles on for Jesus! 

 The Line was so long!!!

 Matt really wanted some candy!

 3D Youth Car!

Trying to stay warm in my trunk!!!

 

A Dagger Through the Heart

Now, when you read the title of this blog you may be thinking that it is going to be negative, but it's actually the complete opposite. "Dagger" in this case is actually a person not a weapon, not just any person...the best person!  Dagger is my best friend, future sister-in-law, AND the mother of my 2 nieces & 3 nephews...now you may think that is A LOT of children, but don't be fooled; 1 niece and 1 nephew are dogs, 1 niece and nephew are bunnies, and 1 nephew is a turtle. WEIRD I know, but this animals are her children and she loves them I think more than most people love their kids. Anywho, I wanted to take a whole day of writing and spend it on Dags, because she deserves it.

I will never forget when my brother moved to the big city of St. Louis to live with my cousin and met the neighbor, Garrett (brother) and I were talking one day not too long after he moved and told me about the neighbor, Dagger, whom Garrett was quite smitten with.  Garrett told me he was in love with her, but she was taken.  So he just dreamed and stared from afar.  Well as fate would have it her and her boyfriend would end up breaking up and Garrett slid right in.  That was over 5 years ago. Last year when I decided to go to St Louis Christian College her and Garrett let me move in. They cleaned out the basement and that become my room.  I didn't have to pay any rent or buy any groceries. I miss living there so much! We had so much fun and got even closer. 

Dagger is the oddest person I have EVER met, but odd is a good thing.  She will walk alone if it means walking right.  She does her own thing and couldn't care less what people think.  She is a 80 year old lady trapped in a 28 year old's body. She hates wearing jeans and I don't think I have EVER seen her in a pair of them before.  She always thinks of other first, and cried when Marshall and Lilly broke up (How I Met Your Mother.) She has terrible taste in TV shows, and made Garrett and I watch them all then time.  She makes the best food and is the HALLOWEEN queen.  She becomes best friends with people just by looking at them.  She loves shooting guns! Everything she wears is sparkly and wears more rings than ANYONE.  

She is the best and I can't imagine living without her.

I love you DAGS! 
                                   She caught my bouquet!

                                         My sister (Kandi), me and Dags

I Am Second

I have really been getting into a ministry called I Am Second.  Matt has the book and has had it for quite some time but I just never read it, and well, I still have not read it; but that is about to change.  I have heard about the ministry but I never knew what it was actually about.  Yesterday just randomly something (well I should say SOMEONE) told me to check it out.  I went to www.iamsecond.com and found out it is people telling their story of how God got them through some type of battle or struggle. There are all kinds of people on there, Brian "Head" Welch (member of Korn who ended up finding Christ), Bethany Hamilton (the surfer who got her arm bitten off by a shark), and so many others.  It is an awesome website and I plan on starting to book tonight. Also, November 7th the youth group is going to start an I Am Second series.  If you have ever felt alone and like you are the only person who has had a certain struggle I suggest you check it out, it will change your life. 

Until next time...Matthew 11:28

http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/bethany-hamilton/

It's not everyday you get a new husband

Matt has been growing his hair out for 5 years (the whole amount of time we have been together.) I have never seen him with "short" hair.  When we first started dating it was shortER than now but not short.  For a long time he has been saying he wants his hair cut, it's hot, gets in his face, hurts to brush it (at one point he was starting to get natural dreads because he hated washing and brushing it.)  He has beautiful hair and I LOVE guys with long hair so I really didn't want him to do it.  I have been fighting tooth and nail for him not to do it for at least a year.  But the past few months he has been talking about it even more and I knew he really wanted to do it (he has some commitment issues, which is why he didn't do it before.)  Since he has been talking about it more and more I thought, I need to support him and tell him to go for it.  The past few weeks everyday he has said "I'm getting my hair cut, will you call Tiffany (our hair lady)?"  Tiffany only works two days a week and she is AWESOME so she is always booked.  But last night she was open, so she whacked all his hair off.  I could tell Matt was really nervous about it, he was known for his hair, and it had been so long since he had shot hair we were afraid he wouldn't be able to pull it off.  So we put our faith in Tiffany, and once again she did not disappoint.  She did a great job and he looks so handsome I can't stop staring at him (cheesy, I know.)  Tell us what you think.

        





                                                      Look at his face!

What can music do?

On Sunday Matt and I took two kids from our youth group to a concert.  It was Royal Tailor, Group 1 Crew, and Britt Nicole.  We were going to go either way because Group 1 Crew & Britt Nicole are some of my favorite artists.  While there I learned several things:

1. God has made us all in his image and no matter what someone has told us we really are worth His love & to live a life for Him.

2. Sometimes doing things that are uncomfortable are worth it, if you're doing it so someone else can enjoy something. Let me explain a little better...I don't know who was in charge of the show and setting the stage up, but I'm guessing they have never been in charge of a show before.  The way they had the speakers set up, if you were up front the bass was so loud you could feel it in your throat.  No this isn't me being an old lady who can't take the noise (remember my husband is in a metal band) it was painful to be up front.  So why didn't you move you may ask, the girl we brought with us is 14 and had never been to a show before and she REALLY wanted to be up front and I knew if I moved to the back she would follow, so I stayed! And her face when a lead singer gave her a high five, a member made a heart at her, or Britt Nicole pointed right at her it was 100% worth it.

3. Another thing I learned even made me cry with happiness....Matt and I have been to so many shows and met so many bands it as almost ruined my love for music.  How is that possible...well, if you've done something over 100 times it isn't as exciting as the very first time was.  I remember going to see bands I love and being so excited I couldn't hold it back, just going nuts when they came out.  But now it is not as exciting, don't get me wrong I still LOVE going to shows, but they have lost their EXCITEMENT!  So here is what happened....when the first band came out and everyone went nuts, and the lights came on, her eyes got so big! She was beaming, then he gave her a high five and she couldn't stop smiling, she was jumping, and screaming and she had never even heard the band.  And as each band got on, she did the same thing over and over again!  It made me remember why I fell in love with music in the first place.  It makes people feel things nothing else can.  

So things that you were once passionate about, but may not be anymore...do it with someone who has never done it before. It will change your mind....trust me!

Until next time....Psalm 33:2-3

Changing Lives

I have some serious dreams and ambitions and I always feel terrible for not doing them but I just don't know how to get them started.  On a daily basis I think about all the things I feel I need to do. I know I can't do them all at the same time, but since I struggle with patience it's tough to wait.

1. Start a teen center for kids who the last place they want to go to at night is home. We would have acting classes, music lessons, concerts, homework groups, small groups, meals, and much more.

2. Travel the country to churches, schools, homeless shelters, music fests, etc and tell my story of how the Lord has changed me and my life, and how it doesn't matter what they have or haven't done, they can still pick up their cross and follow Christ.  

3. Sell everything I own, except my phone (to stay in contact with my family) and my car and drive all over the country helping the homeless and lost. 


These are just three things that I do believe I could do, with the Lord behind me. Just getting them started is the problem.  Where I am if great for now, I have a great job that I love, an amazing church family, and my youth that I care so much about.  But EVENTUALLY I really believe that I need to move onto something else.  I will just keep praying and waiting for the time God calls me to "follow him, so that he will make me a fisher of men" (Matthew 4:19.)

Until next time...Matthew 4:18-22

Being Childlike

I stayed home from work today, to try and kick this whole dizziness thing.  For the most part I'm feeling much better, but I comes and goes, so tomorrow may be a different story.  While I was home I watched Harriet the Spy (on of my favorite childhood movies), Clifford (with Martin Short, not the big red dog), The Lorax, The Voice, and my Face Off (the TV show about movie makeup, not the Nicholas Cage movie.)  While watching Harriet the Spy it really made me think of how much I miss being a kid.  While watching The Lorax it reminded my why I love Dr. Seuss so much! Dr. Seuss was a HUGE part of my childhood.  Books were the main thing around our house and RL Stine and Dr Seuss were the favorites.  My grandma had almost every Dr. Seuss book published, AND in 6th grade and my Sophomore year of college I wrote reports on Dr. Seuss.  His use of words and his imagination just suck me right in.  My favorite book is "There's a Wocket in My Pocket",  I just love the words he made up to rhyme with things around a house.  Dr. Seuss was such a genius and his books will forever be loved by people of all ages.  So I was already thinking about Dr. Seuss and the challenge on Face Off today, is a DR. SEUSS CHALLENGE!  What are the chances of that?!!  So today I have just really been thinking about what makes being a child so wonderful.  As a child you can pretend to be ANYONE or ANYTHING, you never care what everyone else thinks, and innocence is your best friend.  I wish today's young people would stop trying to grow up so fast and just enjoy being a child.  It really is the best thing in the world.  When I start having kids my goal is to encourage them to stay childlike! 

Until next time...Psalm 127:3 


Dr Seuss:
*“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

*"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because 

         reality is finally better than your dreams."

*“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a 

        necessary ingredient in living.”

*"A person's a person, no matter how small.”

*“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,


        Nothing is going to get better. It's not.” 

*“Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of 

looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.”

*“From there to here, from here to there, funny things are 

      everywhere!”

*"If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew, just go 

       right along and you'll start happening too.”

*“You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your 

       mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!"

*“Be awesome! Be a book nut!” 

*“So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is 

         making a chore for the reader who reads.”

*“You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut."

*“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”

Ehhh

A few months ago I woke up one day feeling so dizzy I could barely stand up without falling over.  This went on for two days before Matt told me I pretty much HAD to go to the doctor.  I had temporary vertigo, like Lucille 2 (Arrested Development anyone?)  This morning I woke up and almost fell over when I got out of the bed, I thought it was just cause I was really tired and didn't have my contacts in.  When I got to work and was still dizzy I realized it was back again.  I have NEVER had this happen before so I have no clue why it keeps happening for how to make it stop.  I am asking for some prayers, because it is really miserable being like this.  I can't move my head too fast, or bend over, or stand up too fast.  I came home from work early today and as of how I'm feeling now, I can't see work in my future for tomorrow.  

Until next time...Matthew 4:23 

And it was Greeen!

We are giving our youth space a facelift.  We changed the name, from DRIVEN youth to 3D Youth (deeply devoted disciples.) We changed the wall color in our biggest room, and we are planning on turning one room into a movie/cafe area.  We are having our name graffiti-ed on one wall, and we are moving some things around.  I know that church is not about the building, but we want to give our students and future students a room to take pride in and feel comfortable in.  The color we painted it is very loud and bright, just how we like it, some people may not like it, but it is the students' space and they picked the color.  We have been painting for two days and we HAVE to have it done, and the room put back together by tonight, because Saturday and Sunday we are having a big celebration at the church. We are celebrating 175 years!!  We cannot wait to get the area completely done and to really get our ministry going.  I ask that you keep our group & students in your prayers as we try and build the group up, and reach more students in our community. 

 

 















Kayla & Joel working on the first wall
 

                                                                                                   Even Matt is helping!
















Our group!













    Wall two...LET'S GO!































                                                                                                                My Game face

God's Timing

Far too often I feel like I need to be doing more with my life.  My dreams have always been too big for my small town.  There are so many things that I feel I need to be doing, but don't how to do them.  I would love to sell everything I own and go on the road and just tell lost people about Jesus.  I want to be in a different city each week telling my story to teens who believe they don't deserve Jesus.  I want to be somewhere other than where I am! I love my job and I love my youth group, so I always feel guilty feeling like this.  This feeling is a weekly thing for me, I just can't get it our of my system.  I just believe the Lord has given me so many gifts and talents and I don't want them to lie dormant in my body.  I don't know what to do with myself, other than pray of course.  I do believe God as put me where I am for a reason, but I also believe that the feelings I keep having for for a reason too.  

I have never been one with a lot of patience, so I know I need to just be patient and it'll all work out in God's time.  I have to keep having faith that God's timing is ALWAYS right.  I  know that I just need to chill and let what is going to happen happen, but it's so hard for me. I am just such an extreme person that it is hard for me to live a "normal" life.  I always tell the kids in my youth group to "be wild and crazy for Jesus," and I'm not as wild and crazy as I wish I was.  

I know that I just need to pray and be patient and let God be in control!  

Until next time...Psalm 103:2