Time at the Beach

Sorry for the single picture friends. But I realized that I did not take many great blog-worthy photos. But I would love to tell you how fantastic our weekend was. The weather ended up perfect, we had so much time to have fun and enjoy each other, and also John got to share a message twice with everyone. I loved it. This is just a pic of us girls. We had two of these apartment-style homes (one for the ladies and one for the boys) It was so so so great. Thanks for praying for these great students. We feel so priveleged that God lets us be a small part of the masterpiece He is currently working on in them.

beach bound

we are on our way to panama city beach tomorrow with some students. would you join us in praying for our safety, and our time together and with our Maker. we are so excited.

I am being decieved.

in the midst of the crazy life that we all of a sudden lead in florida, I really have to force myself to let truths that I am learning in bible study sink in. my mind is so fast paced . . . but in studying 1 John, I am forced to slow down.

A simple thought is invading my life. It is easy for me to think that I am sinless, or even to avoid dealing with sin that I know is very real. But 1 John says that I am "decieved" if I claim to be sinless. But even more, it states that sin can cloud my relationship with God. And since claiming the Beloved as mine and accepting freedom from the power of sin, I have neglected the continued reality of sin when it comes to the intimacy I experience with Christ. I was breathless when I realized that when I try to turn from sin, it is only so that I dont look bad, I dont want to have that on my track record. It has little to do with wanting to be closer to the Almighty. Instead of running away from sin because it means being even closer to the heartbeat of God, I run away to be more fashionable, sin doesn't look good on me. Its not my color. Sin has become unfashionable to me so I discard it, but not for the beauty of the Lord. It seems my heart needs a makeover, and the new fashion statement: dust. Can I get close enough to Jesus to be covered in His dust? All I know is that my heart longs to be near Him.

Babies!

The cat is all the way out of the bag, I love to share great news, and there are so many great newses to share. My brother and sister-in-law, Jens and Kristi have been baking a little danish one since summertime . . .and brother and sister-in-law, Joe and Joy are also happily brewing a babe these days too. What exciting news!

It seems to please the Lord to have two great women walking through such a time together as sisters. We are praying for these growing families, for the mommas, pappas, and the wee bairns too.

just words

john and i have been experiencing major computer mayhem. my computer at the moment is a large paperweight and nothing more. And his is not able to send or recieve any info that needs a USB port. so that means no pictures. because the old ones are locked in the paperweight while the new ones cannot be retrieved from our camera. but I have always relied way too much on pictuers, so until we figure something out, I will have to actually write something meaningful and worth reading. I am looking forward to it.

Beach Day

we took some students to the beach on labor day and enjoyed the cloudy skies, wind blowing sand into our mouths, droplets of rain, and a great time with each other. And we stopped at rita's, and incredible custard and icee shop. love it. thanks brittnet and sam for taking pics!

this lovely women with me is Sam, a freshman from Jacksonville. She has been hanging out with us and I cannot wait to get to know this lady better.

we were scrambling to take the pic and pack up because it had started to rain. but what a fun crew.