Christmas season and a New Year

Joel and I have been on break for the last two weeks...it was so nice to be able to relax and do the things we wanted pretty much whenever we wanted. We celebrated Christmas with my family on December 25th at lunch, visited with more family that afternoon, and had Christmas with Joel's family on the 27th. It was great getting to see everyone including all of our siblings, grandparents, and most aunt and uncles. I love the Christmas season because it brings everyone together.

By the time we were finished making the rounds to all the family Christmas gatherings it was almost the new year. Joel and I went to visit his brother and family and got to stay for a couple of days and bring in the new year with them. On New Year's eve night we shot fireworks (it was COLD outside!) and then on New Year's day more family and friends came together to enjoy a lunch as a celebration of the year that has passed, the blessings our family has received, and to look forward with anticipation to the new year.

Yesterday during the sermon a verse really stuck out to me.

1 Peter 1:21 (NIV)

21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

The entire verse is amazing because it reminds us of the sacrifice Christ made for us and that we are able to become a son or daughter of his by simply believing in Him. The last part of the verse is what really jumped out at me, "your faith and hope are in God." This verse was a great reminder that our faith and hope should NOT be in ourselves or the things we can accomplish but in God. So the prayer that Joel and I have for this new year is that we would allow ourselves to be guided by God in his wisdom and that we would focus on having our faith and hope in Him.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a great New Year's celebration.

Just to let you know a little sewing did occur during the break (although not as much as I would have liked):

Baby boots...

With fun (but hard to sew on) grippy dots on the bottom!

Hope you're having a wonderful day!

Great weekend...

Well, I took off work Friday and my Mom and I headed to Jackson early Friday morning to do some shopping. We met my sister-in-law, Deborah and my sister and niece, Sheri and Madison. We looked at a couple of stores, including Continental Sewing...where I was able to find the sewing machine I have been wanting! So yes, that is right, I now have my very own sewing machine. It is however my Christmas present so I will not be able to play with it for a little while (Really though Christmas is just around the corner).


After purchasing my new machine, we all headed to Mistletoe Marketplace to brave the crowds. There were a LOT of people there as always, but we had a good time looking at the different booths, and my Mom even got a few presents marked off her list! I found a pretty scarf and bought a dip mix from Apple Annie's to make for a Christmas party I'm going to next month! I'm excited because their dips are SO good.

Once we had done all the shopping we could handle for the day my sister, Mom, and I headed to the Women's Conference. There were over 3,000 women in attendance at the Extraordinary Women's Conference this weekend. The speakers were great and the music was amazing. My favorite speaker was Angela Thomas, she is just SO funny and personable. The conference ended with a concert my Mark Schultz. I had no idea I knew so many of his songs. He is a great artist and seemed so very humble during the concert. His words were sincere and heartfelt through his lyrics. Here is one of his new songs that I just love. We got to see the music video while he was singing it on stage...that was really neat!

Mark Schultz - Letters From War

She runs to the mailbox
On that bright summer day
Found a letter from our son
In a war far away

He spoke of the weather
And good friends that he'd made
Said I'd been thinking 'bout dad
And the life that he had
Thats why I'm here today
Then at the end he said
You are what I'm fighting for
It was the first of his letters from war

She started writing
(Chorus)
You're good and you're brave
What a father that you'll be someday
Make it home
Make it safe

She wrote everynight as she prayed

Late in December
A day she'll not forget
Oh her tears stained the paper
With every word that she read

It said "I was up on a hill
I was out there alone
When the shots all rang out
And bombs were exploding
And that's when I saw him
He came back for me
Though he was captured
A man set me free
That man was your son

He asked me to write to you
I told him I would oh I swore

It was the last of the letters from war

And she prayed he was living
Kept on believing and wrote every night just to say

(Chorus)

Still she kept writing each day

Then two years later
Autumn leaves all around
A car pulled in the driveway
And she fell to the ground
And out stepped a captain
Where her boy used to stand

He said, "Mom I'm following orders
From all of your letters
And I've come home again."
He ran in to hold her
And dropped all his bags on the floor
Holding all of her letters from war

Make it home
Make it home
Make it home

This is Mark's new CD...you should check it out sometime if you get the chance.

Find it here

I Pledge...

So right now is K-LOVE's annual pledge drive. They are fully funded by pledges from people just like you and me. They do not have any commercials on the program, just music and encouraging words. It's great. Again, if you haven't tried listening to K-LOVE you really should. I know this station is a blessing to MANY people, because if you listen long enough you'll get to hear some of those stories about how K-LOVE has been influential in a person's life. I don't have a profound story about the station like some, but I do know that when I listen to it (which is pretty much all day now) it makes me feel happier and more at peace. It really does matter what "goes in" to our minds and hearts that helps determine what comes out.

Anyway, the reason for this post is that K-LOVE is still trying to meet their goal for pledges for the upcoming year. You can help! The first way EVERYONE can help. Even if you can't pledge you can Pray. Pray that those that have the means to pledge will feel the tug on their heart and do so. Also, just pray for those that work at K-LOVE that the money will be used to its full advantage. The second way is for you to Pledge. K-LOVE asks for whatever you can give. They make it easy now, as you can pay with a debit card and it will be taken out of your account every month...no check to write, no postage needed. Here is a link to a page that answers many questions about PLEDGING.

So, go check it out and see what you can do for K-LOVE and all the people that benefit from listening. Remember, no matter what you can pray for the station :)

Hope you have a great Monday!

(By the way, I got my quilt sandwiched this weekend! I'm excited, now I just have to start quilting!)

Friday...

Once again it is that great day that most of us dream about during the week. I am very excited about the upcoming weekend because there is so much going on, which I love :). Tonight and tomorrow morning Joel and I are attending a marriage conference at church....can't wait. Should be tons of fun. The man speaking is Dr. Bob Moeller author of "for better, for worse, for keeps!" I'll be sure to update you on Monday about how the conference went.

On Saturday afternoon/night we are having a cookout at our church. We're gonna have lots of pork and great sides to go along with it. It should be loads of fun! So as you can see this weekend is full of great things to do, and I can't wait to get it started!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Positive, Encouraging....K-LOVE

Well, my cold is finally beginning to go away. I'm not coughing nearly as much, and I've only had to blow my nose once so far today! Woo hoo! Can't wait till I'm completely back to normal.

So this new weather that has flown in is SO nice. I'm loving the cool breezes and the need for a very lightweight jacket in the mornings and evenings. I can't get enough of it! It is so nice to push open the door and not have your breath stolen away by the humidity or heat. This weather is however making me anxious for even cooler weather, which brings with it holiday season. I'm a sucker for Christmas, always have been, and I've already started thinking about it! I told Joel this morning that I was ready for Christmas to be here!

So...K-Love. I listen to it just about all day long now. If you haven't checked it out you really should. You can listen to it by going online at www.klove.com and then click on the Listen Online button at the top of the screen. It'll set it up for you and you'll be streaming in no time. The first two things I do every morning when I get to work is check my email and start streaming K-Love. It'll make a difference in your day I promise...if you'll just try it. It's so encouraging and uplifting!

Let me know if you start streaming K-Love!