A holy experience

Some friends of mine found this great blog website.
How often do we stop and smell roses, and for that matter dwell on the beauty of roses.
But its more than that, its about stopping to process life and to see really where beauty comes from.
So often I race through my day on to the next thing all in the name of ministry and really miss out on stopping to praise God for the God moments throughout the day.
God moment today, give and it will come back to you, pressed down shaken together and running over.
We had the great honor of hosting some folks for the past few nights at our house. They were such a lovely family and were a joy to have here. There were many moments that I felt like I was in the presence of the Lord. Rather it was a connection on the soul level of Christians coming together.

http://www.aholyexperience.com/

Anyhow, after they left, the Lord used them to give back. What an honor and great blessing to serve the Lord. Thank you Lord for communicating to me, and thank you for loving a broken vessel.

ESCAPE 2012

This past weekend, we took 36 people on a retreat to Bitburg! Marvels was the theme, and we talked about the Marvels of God. We had 4 people gave there life to the Lord. We also had an athiest who came, and she now believes God is real, and exists. Praise the Lord.

One of my favorite stories is on the last day we were walking back from program and V and I were talking. I asked her what she thought. She told me worship was amazing, and that she was moved to tears. She began sharing how she knew that the Lord was there.  When she was singing, she told me that her handed just raised and she knew that God was there. I began to share with her, that she touched the Lord's feet, that she experienced the power of the Holy Spirit. I also shared that throughout her life, if someone tells you otherwise that God is not alive, you can look back at this moment and remember you experienced the Lord.

Thank you for praying.

HS group!

This is our HS youth group. This year has been such a blessing to us. We have students eagerly wanting to know God, wanting to grow, and wanting to go into ministry. Amazing!

Thank you Jesus for allowing us the great honor of loving these students and many more who are not pictured. Please use us Lord in there lives. Help us to be real, and live a life that glorifies you above all.

The sad part of this photo is that in a month a few of them will have already moved, and in a few more months more will go. This is the hard part of what we do. Each time a student moves my heart is torn and broken. I don't know how people function in this environment without the comfort of the Lord.
Each year our youth groups change, and the dynamics change. Thats challenging in an of itself of what a great honor to share the love of God to so many who have passed through these doors. Thank you Jesus for each life that has passed through the doors of the youth house, and the previous youth house. May this building be a safe house where people come and feel loved, and accepted!

Struggles

There are days when being Diabetic is too much. On Wednesday night my pump decided to stop working. This was a day much like many of our ministry days. We had a visitor in town, and it was awesome suddenly things started stirring up. Stirring up means basically lots of need that day including a friend who was broken over past sins and a marriage that needs to be bathed in prayer, to a great talk with a student, and then many in depth conversations about who the Lord is and our response to that. About 6pm, the spiritual tension really elevated as it usually does when there is a heavy topic being taught that night. '

I usually am the one to get attacked ( THANK GOD THAT THE LORD WINS) and that night was no different. My pump decided to stop working all together and I had to call the company who we get it from and decide what to do. They informed me that the warranty was out of date. (sweet) This is just what I needed to hear, well ok not really. However this means at some point in the next 3 months I will need to get a new insulin pump. (a mear 4000 dollars) The thing that struck me as knowing it was an attack is that once I was home it started working. The following morning it stopped again just when another important meeting was taking place, then in 10 minutes it started up again. WHAT???????? Its been working since.

However I did call my doctor to get a backup system in place(injections) in case it stops all together for good. There is a replacement pump that is on its way, which should be here on the 6th. Ugh, this is tough.

I often wonder how people think that when you become a Christian your life with will be perfect and filled with rainbows and gumdrops. I think just the opposite. Of course there are going to be hard times, and good times, but the difference is having joy in the midst. I then think about Job.  I would love to see a snapshot movie of his thoughts, and life in the midst of everything being removed from him.
I am grateful for attacks cause that means God is working and that makes me happy, but its SO difficult in the midst of it. I of coarse have to pray SUPER hard and throw out all the lies that come in my head. Like, you shouldn't be doing this, you are a drain on your husband. Praise the LORD !!!! GOD WINS!
Praise the Lord that my husband combats the lies as well. I am thankful for a husband who is a man of God, and walks humbly with his God!

I am in prayer for those in the ministry that the Lord is moving in. Praise God that He does uses the broken people we are. Thank you Lord that you find ways to use me and speak to me! I feel completely overwhelmed by your love, grace, mercy, forgiveness. Who am I that you love me so??

Ray of sunshine

Adoption news! 

You can read about it here

haasadoption.blogspot.com

I am finally feeling better and the cough is slowly going away. My ribs are sore as I have been coughing like crazy. I am gratefully for a hubby who is patient with me when I don't feel good. 

How did I get so lucky!

Pinterest

SO this is an exciting post, its about my addiction, my crack per say. From the previous post you saw we took a test, well it came out that I am 99% creative  (shocker I know) That being said. Pinterest is my muse at them moment. The premise behind this website is its posts from other bloggers, or other sites that people seem intersted in.  Basically it organizes all your ideas, and projects in one space! AMAZING!

http://pinterest.com/

ideas that I am thinking of:

Maturity

hey there, people who don't read this, as I saw on the side. So I have been reading many ladies blogs and they are basically keeping an online journal so they can look back and see what the Lord has done.

So I thought I would get back into it.

There are three things I would like to write about, one (maturity) , two (pinetrest) and three (life)

Maturity- This is currently what I am going thru:

One reason I have been enjoying this is I have realized how much I don't know. I was never taught how to be a wife, or how to manage a home. Although I wouldn't change how I grew up,  (well maybe a few things) I am trusting that when the Lord blesses us with Children I will be able to teach them things that they will need to know. I am such a Mary- recently Dan and I took a test (one of numerous) and I had an aha moment. You know those moments that pieces are put together for you?
Well, this was that moment. I love to think and ponder about life and relationships. Not a bad thing, but before I know it the day could get away from me.  The other of my strengths was (yellow) and I was noticing that only when I was in a bad mood. Recently I have embraced my need for order and organization. What the Lord help me realize is that with out order, I couldn't be free to be ponderous. One of my favorite versus' from the past year is from Luke 2. When Mary saw all these things and pondered them in her heart. Ah, lets just take a breath and think about that, She pondered (thought, dwell ed, meditated); doesn't that just make you want to just run with your thoughts (the Godly ones) and see where the Lord brings them? I find much freedom in having order, so that God can move in me with our the clutter being a distraction.  One of the statements in the e-book is that a cluttered home is likened to a person filled with sin. It leads to death, and a clean (renewed, forgiven) home leads to life. If we think about it like this:  Imagine you go into someones house, and the first thing you smell is freshly baked bread, and a farmers market Yankee candle being burned. You hear the laughter of little children playing, and if you stop long enough, you can sense that the Lord is near.  What senses and images does that bring up in your mind? your heart?
Now imagine going into (we have all been there) a house where the first thing you smell is Bo, or urine from the bathroom .You see cobwebs, and feel a bit uneasy as you walk in. You notice the kitchen is dirty, and the dishes well looked rinsed but your not certain. The house is filled with stuff, and kids throw things everywhere and don't pick anything up. You notice in the corners cobwebs and spiders are attacking the house. What are you feeling as you come in and sit on a couch that has lots of stains on it?

There seems to me a drastic difference in each house. I understand there are days where things seem out of control or busy and there is no time or energy to get to the house. Understandable.   I am just pondering these things in my mind now, and it makes me wonder what my house is like? Are people uneasy coming in? or do they feel at home?
I know that I will never have a super spotless house, but if I can allow the Lord to bring life into the house thru me, and keeping it up, then its worth it.

This brings me to my maturity thing. I feel like I am growing.  I know, I am 35 and should be well into it by now.  I feel like now is the time. Why do some people get it earlier than others. Furthermore I see so many people stunted at a certain age an time period. Hm... makes me realize why I love the age we minister to. Many people experience such trauma and scars from junior high and high school years they are stuck there maturity wise for years. Lord use me to reach into their lives, and shine your light.