backyard Bible club started today!

Tonight was our first night of Backyard Bible Clubs. This is our 4th year to have a team of teenagers from our church come and lead a club with our neighborhood kids. They play fun relay games, the team teaches them a lesson from the Bible, and shares the message of the gospel each night with kids. Our family looks forward to it every year!

panama city beach, florida :: june 2010

My sister and I traveled to Florida with the girls last month.  We got to tag along with our youth group's beach camp trip.  Adam was there with the junior high & senior high students acting as interim youth pastor.  (We didn't see him much that week actually).

It turned out to be a great week for us.  My girls loved playing with the teenagers.  They were all really sweet playing with them in the pool and on the beach.  I loved the time with my sister.  No joke, when we got back home...I went through Rachel withdrawals for a couple of days.  It was a blast being roommates for 5 days.

Our friend, Bobby, was the retreat speaker.  I really enjoyed the series he taught entitled Thirsty.  You can listen to the series here.  It was surreal going on the trip with Bobby & Amy because we went to beach camp with them many times when their kids were as young as ours.  This summer all their kids were on the trip & in the youth group.  It was such a visual to me of how fast these parenting years go!

One of our favorite memories from the trip...

Our 2 oldest girls got to go on a late night trip to a go-cart place with the teenagers (hanging with Dad a little in there too).  Everyone had glow sticks that night.  Our oldest daughter, the little entrepreneur, charms a bunch of the youth into giving her their bracelets.  On the ride back she attempts to sell them back to their original owners - "for a penny, quarter or dollar," she says.  She made over $3 in change...we were so proud.  Ha,ha.  She may be a bit of a swindler, but we praised her entrepreneurial sense.

Here is a glimpse of our trip.  No oil in sight at that point...we were elated.

Here are slide shows of how much fun the youth group had - here and here.

I need Jesus everyday.

what is around my house right now - Ephesians 6:1, Colossians 3:1, James 1:20, Psalm 143: 8

In the moment just before I hit "publish post" on this post - I heard my daughter spill a glass of orange juice on the playroom carpet. I got upset & raised my voice. In this moment, I was reminded why I wanted to share this in the first place.

I'm not so spiritual that I have scripture written all over my house. The reality is...I'm such a mess apart from Jesus and His Word. My friend, Barie, encouraged me this week to write out scripture all around my house. It is already helping me turn to God when I need to the most, during those everyday moments, when I'm tested.

wet n' wild wednesday

Classic...dad teaching her how to defend herself. Her water gun could beat up all the other water guns!

Backyard Bible club :: Day 1

Day 2

So much fun...in need of a major bath!

snacktime

learning about the gospel in our driveway...so cool

For one week, volunteers at our church host backyard Bible clubs in their neighborhoods. This year there are about 40 clubs going on in and around Pflugerville. We are always so encouraged to see teenagers from our church give so much of their time in the summer to train and lead these clubs. They lead 4 clubs a day...wow! They are prepared in leading lots of games, teaching a Bible story and clearly teaching the gospel to kids. The kids love them too!

On a side note: I'm recovering from bronchitis and I still have a kid on antibiotics for strep throat...it hasn't been the easiest week. But seeing these pictures and telling some stories about club today has really helped me be grateful (for this week of clubs and the opportunities we have to show our neighbors that we care for them).

Bobby's farewell

Adam and I look up to this guy so much! Our old youth pastor and boss (from our youth ministry intern days) is newly hired as the Senior Pastor at Hill Country Bible - Hutto. We are so excited for him, but that didn't stop me from crying like a baby at his staff send-off party. I love it when Adam and Bobby are working together! They make a great team. We know we will still see them a lot (we will make sure of that!), but it still is a bittersweet change. I'll miss seeing him when we pop into the church. Our girls love to be sneaky and play tricks on him! I'm going to miss seeing those interactions, knowing they will be a little less frequent.

Bobby performed our wedding vows. He takes credit for "arranging" our marriage. It has been an amazing blessing to share life with Bobby and Amy. Adam and I watch their godly example so closely, in ministry/parenting/marriage...pretty much everything. If we have a major life decision...we pray & then I've been known to often say "what does Bobby think about that?" He has so much influence in my husband's life and me as well.

He didn't like his new title "Pastor Bob." Just a little joking with him.

I'm looking forward to downloading some HCBC-Hutto podcasts and listening to one of my heroes preach his heart out! We love you Pruitts!!

christmas eve service

1.  the candlelight service is so pretty  2. lots of red jammies  3. my beautiful sis & baby 4. my sis holding the baby again!

I love our tradition of Christmas carols and candles at church on Christmas eve.  We went to the late service with the girls in their pj's.  Our sweet neighbors next door came and had a good time.  And all of our family together took up almost 2 rows.  I love that we were all together at a worship service.  Our oldest tattled on my sis, Rachel, when she had access to the mike that night.  Our pastor's wife, Kathy, asked all the kids (when they went up on stage) if any of them had been peeking at their presents.  Our girl leaped to the mike and said, "My aunt, Rachel, has."  We all got a good laugh out of that.  Poor Rache, she wasn't actually peeking at her presents earlier that day, but she will always have her reputation tarnished.

cookie baking with babies & cookie cutters that don't work

For Kathy & Barie...I can't help but look at these pictures and laugh.  I take all credit for what a funny, crazy baking endeavor this proved to be.  Kathy was so sweet to invite us over to her new, beautiful home the week before Christmas.  She thought it would be fun to do something crafty together.  So my brilliant idea was..."We can bake Christmas cookies with my new 3D cookie cutters!"  Now looking back, this would have been a fantastic idea if...

...3D cookie cutters actually worked & the cookies could stand up in their little stands

...we had picked the right time & temp on the oven to cook the cookies

...we weren't needing to nurse & care for little infants

...and if I didn't have "mommy" brain and put the wrong ingredients in the frosting to make it sour and yucky

Doesn't this sound like it was fun?  It was!  I love getting together and NOT being superwomen!  The time that I have with these 2 ladies is priceless to me.  I always leave encouraged and strengthened in my faith.  I thank God for their friendship constantly.  Only thing is - I'm putting myself on creative-project-idea-probation...for a little while.

He never lets go.

Our hearts have been heavy for some dear friends of ours this week.  Our friend, Keith, was very suddenly hospitalized and very sick for the past few days.  He is recovering now after surgery, but for awhile there the situation was very scary.  I get to share life with some very godly people and today I'm thankful for the truths that God has reminded me of, through them and through His word over the past couple of days.

• God is praiseworthy in our valleys, just as much as He is in our victories.
• Asking God, "What are you doing in the midst of this?" and "What can I know about You, right now, Lord?" is much more helpful than asking "Why, God?"
• Everything I have, that is good, belongs to the Lord.  I can't walk around worried that I'll lose what I hold dear.  But I am asked to hold everything that I have with an open hand before the Lord.  

Barie, your faith and close walk with our Heavenly Father through this trial has blessed me and I'm sure your loved ones around you so much!
The girls and I love this song, You Never Let Go.  We heard it on the radio today.  David Crowder sings in worship to our Father....

"Ever faithful 

Ever true
You I know
You never let go....
...Oh, what love, oh, what love
In joy and pain
In sun and rain
You're the same
Oh, You never let go"