My Valentine(s)

I know I'm a few days late, but hey, you're still reading, so I'll keep typing...

Monday was Valentine's Day, and to be completely honest, I kind of forgot. I'm not anti-Valentine's Day or anything, I just really didn't think about it. But I like to hear all the different things people do, from the romantic to the practical (my boss got his wife a mop/vacuum device. She loved it!).  So, most of the day, I just went about my business until the afternoon mail came to the church. Where I found all of these:

Now, if you know me well, you know I love getting things in the mail. It seems like a small thing, but it brings great joy to my life. A envelope with my name hand written on it, with something sentimental inside, really makes my day! Even if its just a few words. So in the mail, I found three different envelopes from my family: Valentines from my siblings and a tear-jerker card from my momma. Also included this little gem that now sits in front of my computer:

I also had received a large envelope from my roommate in Mobile, Jaye, which included this...

Another thing I love: a coozie. I'm not much of a fan of getting wet while I drink a cold coke or water. So I have started keeping a coozie just about anywhere: the car, my purse, my desk, computer bag...anywhere. Jaye has a similar one, which I admired several months ago, and this is my version! I love it, and went to get a coke immediately.

By the end of the work day, I was having a pretty good Valentine's. Then I went home to find a little goodie basket from the Alderman boys!

Sorry no picture of the actual gift! But here are Collyer and Will. Not sure where Conner was.

Which included was a ballon, Reeses hearts, and a tall coffee mug. Made my day. Again made me thankful again for the loving family I'm getting to spend so much time with. 

Another wonderful and timely reminder I received during my V-Day:

"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." 1 John 3:1

And there you have it: this single gal's Valentines, and I have to say...might have been my favorite one ever.

Yes or... Yes?

Back in early January, as I contemplated starting a blog, I began to notice what people titled their own blogs. Some were basic, others catchy, and a lot were meaningful. I wanted this blog's title to be all three, but I'm not the most creative person in the world. So I started waiting for something to catch my ear.


Around the same time I went to a women's event at my Mobile/home church, First Baptist North Mobile where Kathy Litton spoke. (SIDE NOTE: I love Mrs Kathy. She's been a great encouragement to be over the last few months.) She spoke about how the gospel changes lives, and specifically, women's lives. Overall, the Lord pointed several things out to me, but one of the last things she said struck a cord: A gospel changed life is changed step by step, yes by yes.


Think about it. What happens when you tell God no? I think it's safe to say, that we miss out or are soon miserable, at least that is the way it has played out in my life. I can vividly remember resisting something the Lord wanted me to do last spring. When I finally surrendered, a dear pastor pointed out that following Christ in that step, meant He would show me what was next. That the line "A light to my path" out of Psalm 23, really meant enough light to take the next step. How can the Lord show me what He wants for the big steps of my life, if I won't even obey Him in the small steps?

Looking back over the path that I've walked with Jesus, I see a series of "yes"s. Yes to go there, or do that, or give up this, or wait here. God has done great things in my life when I simply answered with a yes. I learned that keeping my "yes" on the table, was a daily and vital part of my Christian walk. Stepping out in faith means answering yes to my Savior, whether I know the layout of the path or not.


So there you have it. This is my story of how God takes me step by step, yes by yes. So in the words of Pastor Ed Litton (another favorite of mine)...

 Is your yes on the table?

My host family

 Let me tell you about a family that is quickly becoming near and dear to my heart: the Aldermans.

My townhouse lease in Mobile is up in July, and until then, Sherwood agreed to help me find a place to live so that I can keep from paying rent twice. The Aldermans opened up their home for me to come and live with them, which has been lots of fun, to say least.

The Aldermans consist of Troy, Carly, and their boys: Will, Connor, and Collyer. Troy is a chiropractor (I'll take one adjustment, please!) and Carly is a stay at home mom, but also helps Troy with his practice. All three of the boys are in the Children’s Ministry at Sherwood, but all in different “facets” I guess you could say. Will is in 5th grade, an all star athlete getting ready to blaze off into the student ministry. Collyer is in our preschool department, and has become my reading buddy at the house. We’ve read LOTS of books (its a good thing I’m a big fan of children’s books). Then, there’s Connor who is eight years old and in our Buddy Ministry.

SIDE NOTE: **The Buddy Ministry is a ministry in our church designed for children with special needs and their families. We have a rotation of volunteers that spend either the worship service or sunday school hour, with a child that has special needs one-on-one. Connor has autism, along with another little boy, and the third little boy has Down Syndrome.

I have loved getting to know this family over the last two weeks. We all have our quirks, but for the most part they don’t seem to mind having me around. I’ve also become very content to spend a night on the weekend just hanging out with them.

The following pictures were taken with my webcam on my computer. Some have some funny effects to them that the boys found entertaining...

Collyer, Me and Connor

Collyer and I...He told me he loved me tonight at dinner...Twice

Double Trouble, all the way around

Collyer, Me and Will

So there you have it, my new little "family".
Love it! (Dr. Troy)

My 3rd Sunday

8 am- Arrive at church

8:15- set up for Preschool worship

8:30-finish up prep for Parent- Child dedication

8:45-head to Chapel to help see to families

9:20-make mad dash to get extra chairs for reception

9:40-open doors and help families into sanctuary for dedication

9:45- Start crying as I see three families with amazing, beautiful adoption stories dedicate their children back-to-back (17 families total dedicated children)

10 am- head back to reception area to finish set up

10:50-Dismiss children to Sunday School from Kid's Rock Theater.

11 am- head to Parent-Child dedication celebration.

Noon- Fellowship Hall for Pastor's Lunch with 3 pastors and their wives

2 pm- head to the newly redone Alpha Pregnancy Center open house.. A very special ministry in our church that reaches out to thousands of people, as they minister to girls who come for pregnancy tests and/or counseling.

2:30- get home and chat with host family.

3 pm- nap :)

4:15-Arrive back at church, prep for Sunday night activities

5 pm- show a new set of parents preschool/nursery area

5:15- stopped by the boss in hall for a picture

5:30-kids start to arrive

6 pm-begin working on technical difficulties with a laptop and projector

6:40- help corral kids for Kids Rock

7:05- grab 5 kids who are new members to head to the sanctuary.

7:15-presented to Sherwood Baptist Church as a new member along with several others.

7:30- stand in line with other new members as church members come by and welcome us. Had several say "Welcome to the family". Thankfully, all my tears were gone from earlier in the day.

8:15-standing around talking...

8:30- hang out with some new friends and watch... Space Jam (way better than watching 2 teams I don't really care about in the Super Bowl)

11 pm- Home. 

Now, I know that all my Sundays won't look this crazy, and I'm also sure I probably left something out. But nevertheless, it was a long day. However, I can say, it was very much worth it and enjoyable. I love my job, and am so thankful for the Lord giving me such a place to serve Him.

The Gift of Sleep

I love to sleep. I especially love to nap.

While on a mission trip a couple of summers back, I was told I sleep more than a dead person. Well, that may be the case, however I have found reason to back my affection for sleep. The following was forwarded to me in an email, written by John Piper, and I think a great truth to learn.

"At 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning the world is not dark, but there is no color. Everything is black and white and grey, except for the orange light on the garage across the street that shines through my bedroom window. There is no breeze, and the poplar leaves are caught like a snapshot in stillness. The stars are gone but the sun is not up yet; so you can’t tell if the grey sky is overcast or clear. Very soon we will know.
I sit on the edge of my bed trying to develop a theology of sleep. Why did God design us to need sleep? We sleep a third of our lives. Just think of it: a third of our lives spent like dead men. Just think of everything being left undone that could be done had God not designed us to need sleep. There is surely no doubt that he could have created us with no need for sleep. And just think, everyone could devote himself to two careers, and not feel tired. Everyone could be a “full-time Christian worker” and still keep his job. There is so much of our Father’s business we could be about.
Why did God imagine sleep? He never sleeps! He thought the idea up out of nothing. He thought it up for his earthly creatures. Why! Psalm 127:2 says, “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved in his sleep.” According to this text sleep is a gift of love, and the gift is often spurned by anxious toil. Peaceful sleep is the opposite of anxiety. God does not want his children to be anxious, but to trust him. Therefore I conclude that God made sleep as a continual reminder that we should not be anxious but should rest in him.
Sleep is a daily reminder from God that we are not God. “He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). But Israel will. For we are not God. Once a day God sends us to bed like patients with a sickness. The sickness is a chronic tendency to think we are in control and that our work is indispensable. To cure us of this disease God turns us into helpless sacks of sand once a day. How humiliating to the self-made corporate executive that he has to give up all control and become as limp as a suckling infant every day.
Sleep is a parable that God is God and we are mere men. God handles the world quite nicely while a hemisphere sleeps. Sleep is like a broken record that comes around with the same message every day: Man is not sovereign. Man is not sovereign. Man is not sovereign. Don’t let the lesson be lost on you. God wants to be trusted as the great worker who never tires and never sleeps. He is not nearly so impressed with our late nights and early mornings as he is with the peaceful trust that casts all anxieties on him and sleeps."

For me, I must learn to not just let my physical body rest in the Lord, but my mind as well. Hope this encourages you to rest, most importantly, in the Savior.

The A-team

Several months ago, when my friend Jaye and I were in the middle of our stint as roommates, she brought up to me the idea of an accountability group. A small group of girls to encourage, pray, and confine in one another. I had this in high school, but never to a great extent. I told her I was on board, and we thought of a couple other girls who were like us in our stage of life, and might want to join us. 

To be honest, I was a little wary of our little group at first. I mean, yea ,we were all pretty good friends, but could I trust them? I mean, REALLY, trust them.  There was only one way to really find out. We started meeting on Wednesday nights after church, sharing prayer requests and praying for one another. Sometimes we laugh (so hard there's snorting), sometimes we cry (mostly that's me), sometimes we shoot straight, asking hard questions, and sometimes we give a knowing look and nod to one another. We even celebrate life victories (big or small) with chocolate mousse! We've prayed for little things, big things, and a couple of life changing things. Thanks to technology, we can text, email, tweet, or call to update/encourage (its safe to say we've done it all). Honestly, I can't imagine how the last few months would have gone had I not had these three women in my life, praying for me daily.

This began in August and still continues, even this very evening. Since moving a week and a half ago, I've thanked the Lord for the technology of skype (for those who don't know, its a program where you can video call/chat for free). Last Wednesday and tonight I've skyped with my girls, sharing about my new life and getting updates on theirs. The two conversations were very different, one mostly teary and the other in laughter. We all look forward to Wednesdays. Sometimes its a relief just to get there.

So there you have it. If you had told me that I would be this close to Megan, Ashleigh and Jaye a year ago, I would have looked at you really funny. I probably would have told you, "I don't think you realize who you are talking about." But I'm so thankful for the grace and love of the Lord, because it is from out of that, that I have these precious friends. We won't always be accountability or prayer partners, and we know that. But I think I can say for the four of us, we are so thankful that our paths have crossed in the way that they have, even for what seemed like a short time.

 My A-team

Myself, Ashleigh, Megan, and Jaye

Love you girls!

First Week Insights

-I have an INCREDIBLE, new church family. Very welcoming and so many are bending over backwards to reach out to me.
-I have a new nickname given to me by one of the pastors. It’s Bob.
-I have been called Miss Discipline, and told that I can control kids.
-I, once again, live in a small town. I ran into the same church member on both my off days.
-Mr. Russell, an elderly gentleman that volunteers in our ministry, checks on me and comes to swap hugs with the “new girl”.
-I am a part of a children’s ministry where adults JUMP at the chance to help.
We say, “hey, we are going to set up a rotation.”
A dad says, “I’ll do it every week”.
Wow.
-T-Mobile is not a proper mobile phone service provider for southwest Georgia.
-I’m so thankful the Lord gave us intelligence for technology and Skype.
-I have a picture of George W. Bush and myself in my office. Ordained staff members are jealous.
-I am living with an amazing, loving, giving family (they will get their own post in the coming weeks).
-I have been fed by 5 different families, and many other families are on the calendar for the next month. Groceries may become a thing of the very far off future.
-I, once again, live near military people (there’s a marine base in town). You can spot them a mile away...
-I am Miss Kristin. Fully included with “yes m’am” and “no m’am”. Its not weird sounding anymore.
-I have more ideas and creativity for what I’m doing than I ever thought I would. (thank you Lord!)
-I’m reminded daily that God has place me here for a reason, and He constantly reveals to me how He has prepared me for this time in my life.