Snakes, Finding Nemo, Tattoos, Road Kill and much more

You may think by reading the title of this blog that all of those topics are very random when put together. So where do I come to relating them all? Well all of these were something encountered at DNow this past weekend. My friend Ashley asked me if I would help her church out with leading a small group at DNow and I of course said yes! I love working with youth and really miss my girls and the youth from BG.

So Friday afternoon after work I headed to Btown to help out. I wasn’t really sure what to expect because I had never done a DNow where you stayed in homes and where there wasn’t a main speaker, but it was AWESOME!! When I got to Btown I met my girls. I had 8 girls who ranged from sophomores to seniors in high school! They were such a fun and sweet group.
The theme for what we were studying was Complete – being complete and pure in Christ. But the overall theme for the weekend was Animated Disney Movies!! Each group was a different movie. My group was Finding Nemo!!! After dinner and the welcome on Friday my group headed out to the home we were staying at, but we made a pit stop at the Dollar Tree to find fun stuff for our Finding Nemo theme! After DT we went to the Brother’s home to get settled in. After unpacking we settled in for our first two lessons. In the middle of our lessons the church’s video guy showed up to get some footage for the DNow weekend video. So we took a break from the study and went into Coach Brother’s snake room to see and hold his snakes. He has eleven snakes of various types and sizes. Before the end of the night, all of the girls, including me had held a snake and this was not the easiest thing for most of us. I will be the first to tell you that I was very hesitant to hold a snake. After the distraction of snakes and getting some video footage, we went back to our study. When we finished these it was bed time for us.
Saturday morning we got up to an amazing breakfast of biscuits, muffins, fresh fruit, and breakfast casserole. Yum!! We then went back to the basement and got back into our study. We covered the next two lessons of our study talking more about purity in our lives.  After two productive lessons, we had some free time before we had to head to the church for the scavenger hung, mission projects, and dinner theatre.  We took this time to finish getting ready and practice our Finding Nemo skit for the dinner theatre that night at the church.  During this time we all also got tattoos!  And by tattoos I mean temporary ones, not as painful and lots of fun!  After the free time/lunch break we went to the church to prepare for the scavenger hunt.
The scavenger hunt was so much fun!!!  We had a lot of random things to find as well as Disney related items.  We had a blast driving around Btown and finding almost every item.  This is where the Road Kill comes into my title.  This was one of the items we had to find during our trek around town.  My girls were having so much fun with it and it paid off!!  We ended up coming in 5th, which isn’t bad considering there were around 20 groups.
After the scavenger hunt, the groups went out around the community and did some sort of missions project.  The host homes decided what the project for their group would be.  I had girls from two of the high schools in the county, so we split up into schools and went and prayer walked at them.  It was an amazing experience.  I was with three girls who had never prayer walked before and it was so neat seeing them grasp the concept and really get into praying for their school, their friends, teachers, and students.  It was one of my highlights of the weekend!
After the mission projects, everyone headed back to the church for the dinner theatre.  While we ate a delicious dinner, most of the groups performed some scene or segment from their movie.  It was so much fun to watch and participate it.  My girls decided to do the scene from Finding Nemo where Nemo first goes to school and goes to the edge of the reef and then gets captured.  We had a lot of fun with it!
The dinner theatre was over and it was time to head back to the house for our last study and night together.  The last lesson was an overview and reflection on what had been learned and happened over the weekend.  I had several things planned for the last night.  We had a time of reflection, a sand demonstration, a prayer circle, and a time of commitment.  I loved just getting to really see the hearts of these girls and see what they had taken from the weekend.  At the end of the night, I spent some time one on one with each girl that was a great learning experience for me and also another great way to see more of their heart.
Sunday morning we headed to church for the final wrap up and worship service.  It was a marvelous morning spent focused on the Lord and worshipping Him!  Then I said goodbye to by beautiful group of girls and headed home.  I was exhausted, yet full of joy!

My New Favorite Crafty Thing

My new favorite thing, craft wise is Mod Podge!! It is simply amazing!!!! It has led to my new favorite gift to give – homemade journals!! I am currently working on some journals for the girls I am leading at a D-now this weekend! I am so pumped! Not to mention that I found some amazingly cute fabrics at Hobby Lobby this weekend that were on sale! 😀 I love them and they are going to make some awesomely cute journals! I am hoping that the girls will love them as much as I do.

So how do you make said journals?
What you need…
-Composition Notebooks
-1/4 yard of fabric
-Mod Podge (MP)
-Paint Brush
-Scissors
What you need to do…
-Place the notebook on the fabric, making sure everything is covered on the outside and then on the inside of the front and back covers.
-Unwrap the notebook and paint MP onto one side.
-Then lay the fabric over the MP covered side – smoothing out any bubbles and wrinkles in the fabric.
-I then proceed to paint the other side with MP and place the fabric over it – smoothing again.
-Continue until the inside covers are also covered.
Pictures of the process and of my finished products for the girls are to come soon!!

Life isn’t always what it is cracked up to be

So this has been the week for me to see that life isn’t always what it is cracked up to be.  I have been bogged down with school, my job, and life in general.  I don’t even feel that busy, but I feel overwhelmed!

School to me seems manageable and I am working on and learning prioritizing my life.  I am taking Greek, which is a lot of work, memorization, and time! That alone has been a stressor.  Not to mention I have to read, a lot!  I love to read, but sometimes I want to read things that have nothing to do with something I am going to be tested over or have to write a paper over.  However, being in seminary is completely different than college.  I am learning things that I can apply to life, which makes it easier and I am really having to learn to not think about seminary just as school, but as a tool for ministry.

My job. Well, I love the kiddos, but I am learning that I do way more work than I am credited for or paid for.  Part of me is saying, “just be a servant and keep helping them out, credit isn’t important.”  The other part of me is saying “you aren’t going to be able to save money, pay of debt, or travel if you don’t make more money for the amount of time and effort you are putting in.”  Again, I love the kids, but this is the hardest job I have ever had.  I am not sure what to do.  I would love to look for a job that is going to pay more, but I don’t know if that is what I am supposed to do.

Life – my life has been in upheaval since moving.  I haven’t had a church home, a circle of friends to hang out with or encourage me, or challenge me, and I haven’t felt like I am making a difference.  I know part of my problem is that I have been lacking in my daily quiet time and I am working on getting that back on track.  I am starting a new bible study tonight!  I am also starting to get involved at a church and I love it!  Tomorrow I am going to the Wednesday night prayer service.   I am hoping that I can find a small group to get involved in, because I really miss having the accountability, challenges, and encouragement.

Another huge thing in my life is that I am praying about going overseas for 11 months later this year and next.  I would love the opportunity and think that this is where the Lord is leading me, but the thought is also overwhelming knowing I have a car loan, school loans, and the general cost of the trip and all.  I know that if it is in His plan that everything will work out.  I guess we will see what happens.  I would appreciate your prayers in this area for sure!

World Race?

So I just applied for the World Race.  It is an 11 month long mission trip to 11 different countries.  It would be from July 2011 – May 2012.  I am super excited, nervous, and can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store.  It is going to cost about $15,000 if I get accepted but I know that if it is God’s will then I will be able to raise the money.  My interview is on February 15th and I should know more about what is to come and what will happen if I get accepted.  Please pray for me through this experience.

You should try this recipe!

I love to cook almost as much as I love to eat and salads are one of my favorite dishes.  So here is a recipe curtesy of my aunt Rochelle of my new favorite salad and thing to eat.

 

Ingredients:
-Lettuce: I use Romaine or Spinach, but you could use whatever you like best
-Sunflower Seeds
-Dried Cranberries
-Blue Cheese Crumbles: I know most people don’t like blue cheese so you could omit or add Feta or some other kind of cheese.
-Croutons: This is something I added in for a little bit more texture.
-Poppy Seed Dressing
I put it all in a bowl and toss it. It makes a great salad or meal!  I love it so much!

My First Week

So I have officially finished my first week of working 30 hours a week and being a full time Seminary student.  It wasn’t that bad, but so far I don’t have a ton of homework and papers, so that might change.  It has been difficult because I don’t really know anyone, but I have made several friends and one is even coming over tonight for dinner and to study.  I am excited.

I am taking Greek, Systematic Theology, and Christian Philosophy.  So far I like all my classes.  Greek is going to be my hardest and most time consuming, but I love the challenge and I love learning languages!
I also had a great week with the kiddos, they are so much fun to be around, even though there are times when I get very frustrated with them.  I think I am experiencing part of what parenting is going to be like.
I am loving living in Louisville over all.  Especially now that I am meeting more people and have more to do than just sit around and play with my dog.
Well that is a very short and brief update on what my week was like.  Now  I am off to do more Greek.

Bunch Kids

 

These are the wonderful kids that I nanny for!  They are so precious and I have grown attached to them in the few short weeks that I have been working with them!  Caeden is 4 1/2, Alayna is 6, and Gavin is 19 months!  They are so awesome!  We have lots of fun!

Firsts

So today is a day of Firsts for me: First day of February, First day of Seminary classes, First Seminary book finished, First day of Greek, First day of being a full time student and a full time employee. Sounds like a great day doesn’t it!

 

I am suer excited about school starting today, I am also very nervous. I know that God has me here for a reason, but figuring out the balance of everything is going to be interesting. I have so much to do already. Let the non-stop reading begin.