Time is tickin'

So I got this little guy as a graduation present from my best friend....

Now before you ask why on earth would someone get a person a egg timer, there is a story behind it. There was a year between the time I came to seminary and when I finished college that I cleaned houses. One of the houses I cleaned was my best friend's aunt's house and she had one of these timers. Well when I was cleaning one day, I picked up the little feet came off and I kinda panicked, I thought I had broken it. So I took it home and super glued the feet back on and then the next day took it back to her and told her what happened. She looked at me and started laughing...and I was so confused. She told me that the feet were suppose to come off so that it could be turned over so that you could time stuff. Well this is the story of my life...doing silly things, but that's just who I am...I do and say silly things. But while I do silly things...I still was able to get my masters, silly yes...stupid no. Its hard to believe that I am done with school and have no more papers left...woohoo! It still seems so surreal to me...I'm done...no more book reviews, no more research papers...

As the new year begins and things start I have realized that its the time to make resolution...I always have hated making these because I feel like a complete failure if I don't complete them. I heard on the radio today about someone calling them goals instead of resolution, so I have decided to do this. Since I am going to have a little more time and some new adventures I have decided to make one of my goals to blog at least once a week. Sometimes it might be insightful, other times about cooking, or just about a new adventure. I also think I am going to be more crafty making new thing. I am also going to memorize Scripture. Also, try new things maybe a cooking class..finish my cake decorating classes. 

I am excited to see what this new year is going to bring...and what God is going to do because let's be honest it has not been me these past three years, but the Lord guiding me and making everyone of my accomplishes possible!!! 

Oh here is how the egg timer looks when you flip it and don't glue the feet onto it...

That camp high...

It summer which means its time for camp!!! Took an awesome group of kids to camp this past week. Still trying to catch up on my sleep, not sure that catching up will ever happen. The camp theme-Shipwreck Island: Where God Provides. We looked at how God provides everything we need: God provides forgiveness, God provides a call, and God provides enough. The kids studied the life of Paul as they studies these things this week....I think we could all learn a thing or two from him about how God Provides. The week was great and I got to see kids witnessing to other kids and burdened by a friend's lostness and also just grow closer to God. Just a great week!

I can't help but think when I come back home after a great week at camp about that camp high you get. You know, where you are on fire for God and ready to do anything for him. I remember getting it after camp in high school. I don't think much has changed when you are an adult coming home from taking kids to camp. Well, except for the need for more sleep. 

As adults I think sometimes we go thinking that camp is going to be for the kids, we are just going to make sure they are safe and taken care of, minister to them and guide them. However, a lot of the time I think that adults can get just as much out of it as the kids can. Sometimes adults have to be reminded of the "basic" thing about of God. Being reminded that he gives us a forgiveness that allows for eternal life, but also a daily forgiveness for we inevitably mess up. What about a calling...I think sometimes adult and parents get so wrapped up in being a parent that they may forget their calling, what special gift or ability they have been given. I told the kids that God puts a calling on all of us, who have chosen to trust and believe in Him, that is to tell others about him. The last God provides enough...this I think is the hardest to remember. When times are tough and your not sure what is going to happen next...remembering that God provides enough is so important. I know that these are things I had to be reminded of....

God will provide...it may not be what we want and it may be how we want it..but I'll take my chances trusting the Lord, his plans always seem better and turn out better than mine in the end. 

Thought I would leave you with a two pictures of the week:

The crew pre-OMC.

My awesome adult crew....after some OMC fun!!

 

(mis)Adventures in Cooking…

So I tried something tonight that I don’t normally do…I cooked. Now if you give me a cake recipe, a cookie recipe, or some type of baking I love it!!! But I have decided to start cooking more in the hopes of saving money and also because I have access to tons of recipes but just never cooked them. Also because when cooking for one you end up with a lot of leftovers and it’s just not as much fun not getting to share.  Anyway so I searched for a recipe last night and found a couple that looked good.

Then off to the store I went this in and of itself was interesting…well after roaming the store to find everything and having to do a Google search on my Phone to learn what a certain ingredient was I headed home.

So tonight I decided to cook one of my new recipes…Baked Ziti with Turkey Sausage! As I started to gather my ingredients and realized I was short one...so then after a quick trip to WinnDixie I was set.

After chopping and mixing and getting things ready to cook...I put all the required ingredients into the pot…and quickly realized that the pot was a little too small….the recipe told me to stir often…..that was a problem.

Anywhoo…once I got everything mixed together and into the pan it went and into the oven……and 20 minutes later….

I started the cooking at 6:30 and finished cooking at 8:30…it tasted really good J Hopefully I can cut my cooking time in half next time…next recipe Mexican Style Brown Rice…stay tuned for the results…

I have a secret...

Ok…so I have a secret…I am a big history nerd. Now when I say this I don’t mean I like little pieces of history here and there no I really enjoy the stuff. I love it when I randomly come upon the history documentaries. I live in New Orleans and the one thing I want to do before I leave is go to the WWII museum. I love visiting plantation homes, for Halloween one year I so want to dress like a Southern Belle from Plantation days.  I also love to read but even the trend of history even extends to the book I read, most of the books I have are historical fiction.  I would love to live in a really old house one day….squeaking boards, claw-foot tub, wrap-around porch…all that stuff. So needless to say...I am a nerd and I love history…but it is something that not many people know.

Having shared the above info it should be as no surprise that in I am really enjoying my Baptist Heritage class this semester,   learning about our origins and the stories behind the different churches and beliefs that helped to start the Southern Baptist.  Well, today in our class we were discussing “Baptist Expansion” our professor pulls out a book that was the Philadelphia Confession of Faith from 1742, which was like so cool to me to see this book from so long ago. However, it got me thinking…my mind tends to wonder. What legacy are we leaving behind? How are people going to view us 100,200,300, 400 years from now? What books are professors going to be pulling out and show students during class?

My hope for those of us who are believers we have left a legacy. A legacy that says we were passionate follower of Christ and that when people looked at our lives they can say that was someone who lived a life dedicated to Christ and how he called believers to live. Not only that we lived a life that honored Christ, but that we shared Christ whenever we had the chance. So what legacy are you leaving? 

Cha-cha-cha-changes

Sorry for such the long time between post, my summer has been really busy. I have enjoyed spending time with the kids in my ministry and also getting to hang out with the parents and build some great relationships. It’s kind of hard to believe that it is time for school to start again, seems like we just ended. I am ready to start though because I only have a year and a half left of school. It’s hard to believe because to be honest getting my Masters was never really a plan of mine. But as I have learned what we plan is not what the Lord may have planned. But I digress…the reason I am posting is because something I did today made me think about the changes I have gone through over the years. I am getting started with making a T-Shirt quilt, with the help of my Hammond mom, Mrs. Rhonda Smith. So I am beginning to cut all my shirts and as I am going through the different shirts I am thinking back to when I was in high school. If you look below, there are two pictures. One of me at my senior year prom and the other as a dinner with friends this summer:

That’s me on the far right.

Again me on the far right.

As I was going through my shirts today and thinking about all the different ways that I have changed in the past 8 years, it really amazed me.  For the many of you who did not know me in high school and back in the day, I am not sure you would think it was the same me. I look at how I have changed physically and thank God that he has given me to strength to lose the 27 lbs I have lost recently. But I am also so thankful for the strength He has given me through the years. I think that if it were up to me I might not have ever left Benton and then I would have missed out on all that God had in store for my life. I also know that He has placed people in my life to help me through tough times in my life and showed me that it is ok to go and try new things and step out on faith. I think it is amazing how God will use situations and people in your life to mold you and shape you into someone that you might not have expected for his glory. To all those people who have helped me through the year and encouraged me thank you. But most of all thank the Lord for being willing to take someone who is a jumbled messed and using me in ways that I ever imagined. 

Lessons learned...

I remember hearing something one time, that the definition of stupid is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I think it is something like that. Anyway, it is neat how sometimes God can take anything to teach you a lesson. I pulled my Children's Church book out to make copies so that I could start reading over my lesson and preparing. The lesson was on Ruth and Boaz one that many of us who have been in church our whole lives know pretty well. So as I was reading over the lesson I could not help but laugh because the lesson that is being taught along with the story is "God is in control". Now when I say I laugh it is because this is a lesson that I am learning daily. 

I have posted before that I come from a family of  worriers and that I am trying my best to hand it all over to God. But its amazing at how easy I can get deterred and try to work things out on my own. The what is even more amazing is how God will use a lesson that I am going to be teaching kids. I think sometimes as adults we try to make things happen and as a result we get less then what God had in plan for us. 

I love it when myself or other adults learn from a children's lesson, sometimes is takes learning and becoming like a child to understand what God has in store for us. How this all relates back to the definition of stupid you may ask? Well you would think that one would learn after 26 years to trust completely in what God has in plan and I am trying because what I can do of my own will is nothing compared to what I do and be apart of if I trust God in the plans that he has for my life. 

Childlike faith

Well I have decided that I am not that great at updating my blog. When I get a idea of something to write about, I am no where near a computer and when I am by my computer, I got nothing.

We got back from camp today, I have to say that it is one of my favorite events that I get to be apart of and help to plan. I think every kid should have the chance to go to camp. This is a chance for kids to get away from all the distractions that life at home brings and really learn more about Christ and grow in a relationship with him. They get to hang out with some really cool folks and just have a good time. Oh and they also get exhausted. Which means that I should probably be asleep since I got less sleep then them. But it is also my favorite time because I get to hang out and actually build relationships with the kids.

With all that being said, I now get into my actual post. We were in worship last night and I was singing and looking out at our kids and as I was watching them I saw one of our boys. He had his eyes closed and was just singing...with what looked like was all his heart. At that moment I could not help but praise God. To see a child just worship our Savior makes my heart sing. It also made me think, how often to I truly just worship God with reckless abandonment. Not caring what others think but just praising our risen Savior. I think as adults we sometimes let out circumstances get in our way, we let them bog us down with "why me?s" and questioning God.  My prayer for my kids is that they would learn to worship, love, trust and accept Christ  and worship our Risen Savior with a reckless abandonment that this world has never seen before. That when they have trials and hard times they turn to God for his guidance and not trying to take things into their own hands cause lets face it....it never really turns out even a fourth as well as it could when God is in control.

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3


May you keep the faith of a little child and always remember that we serve a powerful and almighty God that nothing is too big for!!!!