Never Give Up

We have a boy in our youth group who is autistic. I believe he is in 9th grade because this is his first year coming to youth. At the beginning of the year, it was rough- He has a problem cussing and saying inappropriate things, walking around during service bumping into people and chairs, and honestly just being very distracting. Alot of people don't really know much about autisum (I, for one) and I could tell it was very distracting to most of the kids. BUT, over this past year, I have begun to see a change. (And props to my husband for being so patient, working with him, and really looking out for him). The other night in worship, this boy actually stood next to me the entire time (which is a big accomplishment anyways), was still, sang the songs, and even raised his hands up to worship!!! I was blown away! Then on Sunday morning, he went down to the altar to ask for prayer for rededication/salvation! You might not think this is a big deal-- but I am so encouraged!! It just proves to me that we serve such an amazing and awesome God that loves EVERY SINGLE person and will never give up on us! Just because we think somebody is "different" than us, that they aren't the allowed to share in the glory of heaven. It takes you out of your Christian box and stretches you to think and be more faithful in sharing the gospel. That right there is enough to make me smile for a long time:-)



Disclaimer: For anybody reading this from Cornerstone, please know that I am not trying to point out/gossip about this person. I am simply sharing about the miracle I see transforming in someone!

A League of their Own

For the past couple of seasons, I have had the pleasure to sit on the sidelines and cheer Adam on in his softball games. Being the competetive person that I am, while supportive:-), I always wanted to get in there and play. So this is my year! We officially joined the Cornerstone Coed softball team. And let me tell you, it is a sight to see. The team is diverse to say the least: We've got men that are really good and are just playing because their wives convinced them (i.e. Adam), girls that are have trouble making any kind of connection with the ball, and then some in-between. We play on Friday nights and so it makes it like a fun date night for the weekend. Everyone is really laid back and since we're playing in a church league, it's mostly a friendly atmosphere. One thing we have realized, however, is the fact that our coaches are sticklers for the rules:-) We play back-to-back games and since we were late signing up for the season, we had to sit out the first game. Then, Adam forgot his glove the 2nd week and they made him sit out out the first game as well. It's definitely been a humbling experience:-) Not to mention the fact that I pulled a very large muscle last week running to 1st base (Nothing will make you feel older, huh?) But it's been great and we've had the opportunity to also meet people that we have never met from the church before. I'm having a blast and I would attach pictures if I had them. Mental picture: Our shirts are teal:-)

Marley and Me

So I think everyone knows by now that Adam and I are on the dog hunt. We know that we want some sort of an athletic dog, specifically a lab or labradoodle. Well my good friend Hannah told me that we needed to rent Marley & Me because it was about the story of a young couple chronicling their life with their labrador (Marley). Well, after crying my eyes out for the last 45 minutes of the movie, I'm not sure if I even want a dog anymore:-( This movie had the complete opposite effect of a feel-good movie for me! And we were even watching precious Ellie (the Franco's chocolate lab) that night. Basically, I don't do well when pets get old in age. (Don't even get me started on the movie Homeward Bound!!) In fact, I don't like watching movies when people get older either. I always end up relating the pet/person to someone important in my life and then thinking about how sad it will be when they'll pass away. Does anybody else ever feel like this or am I completely morbid??? So by the time Marley was going to the vet for the 2nd time, my brain and my eyes had had enough and I wasn't even sure that I wanted a dog anymore. Then, as if I wasn't depressing me or my husband enough, I got on my where-are-we-going-to-live-when-we-get-older/am-i-going-to-have-to-work-all-my-life/i'm-terrified--to-have-children spill. Adam definitely thought I was crazy and probably just wanted me to go to bed. I really did think it was a cute movie, but I think it just had waaaayyyy too much of a personal impact on me. Give me a week or so, though, and hopefully I'll be back to my dog-hunting:-)

Puerto Rico Purses

No one can ever say that I don't work for a generous doctor. The week before last, Dr. Hines went on a week-long vacation to Puerto Rico. Apparently this was the first time she ever went away for so long and kept the office open. Part of me felt honored that she trusted me enough to watch over the office (the other part of me was freaking out that I was the one in charge!) She brought everyone souvenirs.......



In her words, she couldn't find anything that said "Puerto Rico" on it, so she went to the Coach store instead:-) Keep in mind that I work with 7 other women... and we all got one. Then I found out that last year for our office manager's birthday, her gift was a trip to Puerto Rico. Maybe she wants to give me a birthday gift of enough money to pay off my student loans:-)

Our Little Garden

One of the best things about living in our own home is the fact that we can do whatever we want to it! No apartment management telling you what color to paint your walls, that you can't have pets, and that it's normal to be 92 degrees on the 3rd floor in the summer:-) So in our backyard, we have now started a garden! It's a very slow process but it's so fun to come home from work everyday and check on the little plant's progress. We had to start the seeds inside, until the "danger of the frost has passed" and in the next week or so, we will start planting outside. I was getting a little worried when I was seeing any progress, but it has worked so far. I might have been a little overzealous with our first garden, but we are planning on growing tomatoes, green peppers, zucchini, cucumber,broccoli,lettuce, green beans and even blueberries and blackberries! Here are some pictures of our gardening skills and everyone can be looking forward to some fresh produce come harvest time (late July/August) :-)


Adam working on moving this giant fence thing that was in our back yard


Our first seeds!!


It's hard work shoveling out a plot of land!

"Resurrection Day" 2009!

Well for most of you, the traditional day is called Easter:-) However, I was officially corrected about 2,045 times on Easter Sunday when I said "Happy Easter". Apparently the correct saying is "Happy Resurrection Day". I don't know, maybe it's an Assembly of God thing:-) Anyways, it's the day that Jesus rose from the grave and whatever you want to call it- I'm so glad he did it!!! Poor Adam had a sunrise service (at 6:00 am), 4 regular services, breakfast run by the youth, and an outreach service at Shady Hill (the trailer park community our church does outreach with) in the afternoon. It was a pretty exhausting but pretty wonderful day! Since I haven't lived in Cleveland in about four years, one tradition that I have started on Easter is my traditional Easter dinner:-) When I was a graduate student in Nashville, a bunch of us weren't able to go home for the weekend, so we had Easter potlucks two years in a row. (I realize I tend to take on the mom/cooking role for special events). Last year was Adam and I's first Easter in Chester and we invited some of our friends over for a laidback meal. This year, however, I wanted to provide a full-out traditional Easter feast and invite all our close friends and have them just show up and hang out without worrying about bringing a dish. I made a huge ham (for the 1st time), smashed potatoes, green beans, corn casserole (thank you, Abby:-)), croissants, grape salad, and strawberry shortcake. We pulled out the good China and the boys set the table perfectly. Thanks to everyone for coming over!


Easter Morning


Most everyone helped get everything together since the outreach lasted a little long






Look at this table:-)

Give Me Your Eyes

Call me "behind the times", but I just went and saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire last night. Alot of people had said it was a really good movie and I knew that it had won tons of awards (which USUALLY means that it's too deep of a movie for me to understand:-)), but last night was the first opportunity for us to go see it. And I'm so glad I did.
As compared to most Christians I am surrounded by (and here's some honesty here...) I feel like an inadequate Christian. I know it's not a comparison game that we are playing, but I also know my downfalls. I have one of the most selfish spirits in the world and I don't have a heart for the lost as I feel most people do (and I know I SHOULD). I have had an easy and wonderful life and find that it's so easy to get complacent. I always beat myself up that I am not a missionary living overseas or that I don't do more outreach even in the city where I live. I know that working with the youth is bound to get me some points, but let's face it, most of them grew up in the church and have had at least a chance to hear the gospel. I get so caught up in my daily life that I just glance over the "other things" and let someone else go do it. I pray SINCERELY for God to open my eyes up to the rest of the world. We are called to spread the news of Jesus to the poor and brokenhearted and what do I do? I go shopping. Or out to eat. You get the picture. But anyways, back to the movie. Last night's description of the slums of India really hit home to me. And I honestly don't think it was just an emotional response. My heart broke for those kids that have to grow up like that and I know children have that kind of life right across the highway from me, too. Adam and I have talked about adoption and I believe that is one step we will take later on. Right now, as always, our lives are a work in progress. And everyday I have to ask God to show me his heart for the lost, because I'm not doing a very good job by myself.
If you haven't heard the lyrics to this song by Brandon Heath, it's called "Give Me Your Eyes", I would recommend downloading it.

Lyrics | Brandon Heath lyrics - Give Me Your Eyes lyrics


And I apologize for the seriousness of this blog-- I'll try not to let it happen again:-)