The Holidays

This is hilarious
PS - It was also all Drason's idea :-)
Merry Christmas
Amanda

Be sure to pause the music player first.

Who could have known

It's Christmas time again. When I think back to last year at Christmas I can't believe how much life has changed in a year.
Last year around this time I was working as a counselor. Drason and I were attending Westside Chapel, I think I was planning the Christmas program and teaching 3 little boys to sing "Go tell it on a mountain" I may have been sewing costumes for Mary and Elizabeth :-)

I really didn't ask for much for Christmas, I figured I had about everything I needed. I was frustrated at work, but other than that life was pretty great.

Last Christmas Drason gave a gift certificate to a recording studio. I don't know how he will ever top that gift, because it was the tool God used to quite literally change my life.

Well, life is still pretty great, but what a difference a year makes.
I'm not working as a counselor anymore, but between being a mom and writing music I manage to stay pretty busy. We started attending First Baptist Heath in April, and while we were sad to leave Westside, we knew that the Lord was moving us for a reason.
There are some terrific musicians at church, and they have been an immeasurable help and encouragement to me. Change this year was hard, but it was worth it. I can't wait to see what God has in store for next year!

So today, as a few of you already know, myself and Shawn, Micheal, Randy, Jon and Anne went over to use that gift certificate, and WOW! I was so impressed and blessed by everyone there!

If you would like to check out our music click the link below
http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/172386

Please remember that these songs are copyright and that while we do not mind if you enjoy them, please do not download, hotlink or copy them.

Merry Christmas,
Amanda

Surrender

Surrender

String the world together on a thread
You push your way through everyday
And live inside your head

You work for money, pleasure, love and fame
So wear your pride and try to hide
Until there’s no one left to blame

Surrender to Me
Surrender and stop playing with the life you lead
Surrender to Me
Surrender and be free
Surrender and be free

So many years I lost playing a game
I had a lie to live and die
Pretending in my shame

So naïve, until You called my name
My eyes were sealed, but now I’m healed
And I’ll never be the same

You said

Surrender to Me
Surrender and stop playing with the life you lead
Surrender to Me
Surrender and be free
Surrender and be free

You walked this earth till you were 33
Now salvations comes to everyone
Who can trust you and believe

You gave your life, but You’re not in the grave
And for what You did, my life I give
Oh, it was never mine to save


He’s calling…

He’s calling…

He’s calling you

Surrender to Me
Surrender and stop playing with the life you lead
Surrender to Me
Surrender and be free
Surrender and be free

Surrender to Me
Surrender and stop playing with the life you lead
Surrender to Me
Surrender and be free
Surrender and be free

2008 is fast approaching

I normally would not put political stuff on my blog, just because I really don't want to argue with anyone. However, a friend sent me this link in an email and if you are wondering, as I was, if there is a candidate worth voting for, check out this link.

http://teamhuckabee.com/issues.php

I sincerely hope this is the guy who gets the nomination, if not I'm not sure I will vote, picking the best of the worst is not my idea of voting.

Check it out
Amanda

Donna started it

This one is cute
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1187510308

This one is just hilarious

http://www.scroogeyourself.com/?id=1187847510

See what happens when you have a snow day!

Amanda

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......

My teeth are chattering, but I'm beginning to think that this is a good thing for visitation. We looked so cold, everyone we visited who was home, invited us in the house!
More GREAT NEWS, we were able to lead two people in prayers to receive Christ. God is so good to bless us in this way on such a cold blustery night!
Praise God.
As a drug and alcohol counselor whenever someone would tell me "you gotta try this" it was usually a bad thing :-)
But when I say - you gotta try this - I mean it. This is so much better than anything else!
See you soon,
Amanda

Music News

Just a quick update on how things are going musically.
On December 20th I will be going over to record a few(maybe 3?) original songs. This is totally awesome and I am amazed by the people who have really stepped up to make this happen. I have been really blessed by several people in our church and they have been very generous with their time and talents.
Hopefully I will have something to pass around at Christmas, but it does take time to do this, I'm sure.
So for the time being, PRAY FOR US and my family, and for their families.
This past week has been especially hard, and it is really easy for me to get down in the dumps over stupid little things that shouldn't bother me. It really seems like the devil is going to do anything possible to stop this from happening.
Despite all this God is still opening doors, finding musicians, healing bodies, providing funds, and arranging schedules! PRAISE HIM!

Amanda

From a Cold Rainy Monday Night....

....to a party in Heaven!
Some of you know that I am involved with visitation on Monday nights. Well good news to share.

I was blessed with the opportunity to go out with Jackie and Linda and share the gospel with a family.
Turns out we picked up too many packets, and so we were on our way and we turned down the wrong street.
So we were ready to turn around when we noticed we did have a person who lived on that street after all. So we find the house, and we are invited in and
were able to share the gospel with the Mother, and I have to tell you I was more than a little nervous. But at the end she said she would like to pray to receive Christ. We were so happy we were able to lead her in that prayer. So here we are getting ready to go and her 15 year old son pops out around the corner and we start chatting about the youth programs, he says he has been to a few, and we just felt led to share with him too.
SO we sit down and go through it again, this time Mom is smiling and turns off the tv that the 15 year old wants to watch, and we were able to share with him as well, and at the end - he wants to pray too!!
We lead him in the prayer as well!
PRAISE GOD!
I feel so blessed to be able to be a part of this ministry and I hope that YOU will come out with us too!
Goodnight
scratch that
GREAT NIGHT,
Amanda

God help us

It is very distressing to read the news, to see the presidential candidates, to look at the world around us.
Three stories that caught my eye tonight
The first is from California, where gender has been outlawed and students as young as 5 years old will be exposed to "mental molestation" to say the least. Parents, Non profit organizations (like churches) even privately owned religiously affiliated hospitals are being forced to:
1.) not offend or do anything that "could" be discriminatory against persons who are gay, transgendered, bisexual - and a whole list of other perversions.
2.) Make policies which include "fair" inclusive, non offensive, treatment of these people
3.) Face being criminally prosecuted, as well as civil liabilities if they offend anyone.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58130
full article

Also in the news,
In Maryland, you do not have a choice, religious or otherwise, on whether or not you will vaccinate your child. In fact the state has ordered that parents produce the children this Saturday in court to be vaccinated on the spot or face 10days imprisonment and 500.00 in fines, which will be recurring if the parents still refuse to vaccinate.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21839294/
full article

Lastly,
The average American
by Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1684553,00.html
This is just sad

10% of Americans think Joan of Arc was Noah's husband.
50% could not name a single Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)
But 90% own a Bible? I'm beginning to wonder if people think it is an over sized heavenly ticket-stub, not something you might pick up and read.
I wonder what percentage of Americans have read the whole Bible?
Maybe it's time for that poll
Goodnight
Amanda

Update

Not too much to update about, but a few random things....

We are all healthy, no thanks to our dishwasher! We missed Church Sunday, we were all really really sick. Thank goodness we were able to figure out the problem.
I had been noticing that when I did dishes there was sometimes a filmy residue on them, so I was rinsing them and wiping them off with a paper towel. Apparently the dishwasher had stopped rinsing the dishes, and was baking on the dishwasher soap. So everyone was getting pretty sick and we didn't know why.....duh.
Anyways the lady in the ER said it would be faster to just drink the dishwasher liquid if we wanted to poison ourselves, um, very comforting but we decided against that.
I am back to doing dishes by hand, and everyone is feeling much much better, thanks to everyone who called or emailed.

Musical things are going OK. I need to record a song or two by December 26Th( I have a gift certificate that expires that day), I called the studio and they are pretty open, so, it is just a matter of getting people together to play instruments and going to record the music. Anybody play the mandolin???
This is kind of overwhelming for me, it is one thing to say "I'm going to record some music" It is in a whole different world to actually do it. Please pray for me and for my family. This is expensive, and utterly new, so pray pray pray.

Finally, keep praying for the connections ministry. It is so important that we reach people with the word of God. In reality, nothing else matters!
In choir practice someone asked how many of us knew a lost friend or family member who we were praying for, I think every single hand was raised.
It is so important that we not grow weary of doing good.

Enough for tonight,
Amanda

Romans 12:2

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. "

This just stuck out to me today

Amanda

Everywhere

Everyday I see more and more evidence that we are truely living in the end times. A friend sent me an email about a movie. On the surface it seems like any other fantacy movie, but dig a little deeper and the truth will suprise you.
The movie is called " The Golden Compass" and it is about a child who is fighting against "tyranny." Too bad the "tyranny" that she is fighting against is the Church. The child is accompanied by a talking animal/spirit guide called a "daemon" (pronounced demon) When you click on the website to link which describes the daemons it states
"In Lyra's world a person's soul lives outside thier body in the form of a daemon- an animal spirit that accompanies them through out life......In our world it is possible that people have daemons as well, only they are invisible. If you would like to learn more about your daemon.....click here"
Check out the site for yourself
http://www.goldencompassmovie.com

I am lost for words
Amanda

D is for Determination

I am determined to make it through this week!
It seems like this week has been very busy. My friend Laurietta is staying with us, her grandfather passed away last night, they are in the process of making arrangements. Please pray for her and for her family, I have known Dean since I was a little girl, so pray for me too.
Drason is working a crazy schedule this week, he says he will be done for the week after tomorrow, (I really really really hope so!)
We have been super busy with stuff for the kids, and the house seems to be staying clean somehow??? Maybe it is because we haven't eaten at home much this week so far.
So how does one deal with all of this???
Philippians 4:4-9

I can be thankful that I have a house that is big enough that I can accommodate a friend for a week and a half and not have her feel she is an intrusion.
I can be thankful for being trained as a counselor, this has come in handy this week.
I can be thankful that I have a VERY supportive husband, who is arranging his schedule to meet my needs.
Thank goodness that Toys R Us had costumes for the boys on sale for 70% off tonight .
I can be thankful that I am not working and have the time to spend to keep up with everything, that I have some of the greatest friends on earth, and that I have been blessed beyond measure.

And life goes on
Amanda

WINTER JAM 2008

SO,
WinterJam is January 25th, 2008 at the Schottenstien (sp?) center in Columbus.
This was an awesome experience last year! I have no idea who will be headlining this year, but last year I took the boys (all 4 of them) and we really enjoyed this!
check out the site
http://www.jamtour.com/
Who wants to come?
Amanda

C is "Come with me"

To look skyward and wonder at the way that things have been
Not to understand the reason, just to feel the pain within
Until a new life begins
Come with me

So hopeful was the first day when I saw you and believed
your Son gave his life for me, what a gift I received
When you called to me
Come with me

Come with me
Take the hand of the One who will not fail you
Trust in Him who died to save you
And glory in the One who lives to raise you
Come with me

Yet, so subtly I fashion, without a reason or a rhyme
An excuse for my actions and schedule for my time
Leave you behind
Come with me

Try to lead rather than follow, never works quite right
Filled with worry, all these questions keeping me awake tonight
Still you send the light
Come with me

Come with me
Take the hand of the One who will not fail you
Trust in Him who died to save you
And glory in the One who lives to raise you
Come with me

Trying hard to be humble, where you lead I will go
Even when the path is narrow and the way I do not know
Your will above, below
Come with me

So easy come the questions, search for answers, and I gain
Such comfort in your teaching and a peace I can’t explain
and you call me again,
come with me

Come with me
Take the hand of the One who will not fail you
Trust in Him who died to save you
And glory in the One who lives to raise you
Come with me

Enough for tonight
Amanda

B is for Bonfire

Thanks to the Cranes this past Saturday for the great bonfire/hayride/cow milking experience.
Which by the way was totally cool!
We had such a great time at the Cranes this weekend and I was really glad to be able to fellowship with our church friends. Someone asked me who my extra child was on Saturday, Macguines' friend is Will. Will's grandmother recently passed away and he needed a day of fun while grown ups straitened out a few things, so pray for him and his family. I feel so blessed to have a church family that uplifts through the good times and the bad.
I really hope we will do more of this type of get together, where kids are welcome, and it is easy to invite friends and family to tag along. It is way easier to invite friends and family to a bonfire/hayride than to some other types of gatherings.
I really enjoy getting to know everyone and meeting some of the folks who have been a part of the church that I really never got to meet. With 400 folks it's hard to meet everyone, and to remember everyone we meet.
Anyways, a great time was had by all, and if you missed it, I hope we see you at the next one
Goodnight,
Amanda

Gimme an A

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

Is it just me, or do people in general just seem really depressed?

I drive around and see people who look angry, sad, bored, once in a while I see someone singing with the radio (oh wait that was me in the rear view mirror) but everywhere I go people just seem down in the dumps.

I think this is really a common occurrence, and having lots of letters after my name hasn't really helped me to understand this.
I can tell you all about the nuero-transmitters in the brain, how dopamine, and serotonin are the major chemical contributors to mood, what natural cures can help(things that produce dopamine, help regulate serotonin, without the use of drugs), MAOI's, SSRI's and a whole lot of other stuff that was developed to help people cope with being unhappy.

OR

I can tell you about Jesus
As a Christian, Jesus is our joy. There is nothing on earth that should get us so down in the dumps that we lose our joy. We are redeemed, captives set free, death row inmates given a full pardon, what do we have to be upset about?

There was a little song we used to sing in VBS when I was a kid that went
"I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, yea
down in my heart - where?
down in my heart
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart
down in my heart to stay
and I'm so happy, so very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart
and I'm so happy, so very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart."

This may seem like a silly kids song, Even the bible mentions joy second only to love.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness....

Ok, so what about when bad things happen in our lives?
Try James 1:2-4&12" 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
" 12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

Some Christians think joy is something they need to work out between them and God - almost like a contract negotiation - I'll be happy if you.......(fill in the blank) and that their lack of joy only affects them. Wrong!


Psalm 126:2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."

On several occations God called us to be a people set apart, called according to his purpose, and when you are joyful others see what the Lord has done for you

When you live defeated - others see that too. Unbelievers run the other way. Why would anyone want to follow someone who has a defeated spirit?

Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

David sure doesn't sound defeated... In fact Psalms mentions joy so many times I couldn't count them all with the online counter - which has never happened before- but I counted at least 95 times.

And finally
Colossians 1:11-14 "11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption,the forgiveness of sins."
What more do you need to be joyful about?
;-)
Amanda

Happy Birthday Macguines

Well, September is almost over and I have to say that this month flew by.

Macguines turned eight today and I am so impressed by how he is growing into a young man. He and a few of his friends played soccer in the back yard and just had a great birthday.

Hapy Birthday Macguines, I love you!

More pictures

As part of a R&R day today I was able to take the boys out to Dawes and get some great pics, let me know what you think :)

Pray for our Family

Some of you know that I lived with my grandparents for a few years and we have always been very close. We will miss Grandma Keen, but we know that she is with our Savior. Her favorite hymn was "In the Garden" which says : "And he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known." I can just picture her, this way.

We will miss her more than words can say.

Calling hours are tomorrow from 2-4 and 7-9 tomorrow at Henderson and Van Atta in Heath and Services are Tuesday morning.

Hebrews 4

I was reading Hebrews 4 this week and it was a message that I needed to hear "1Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. 3Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' " And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. ...... 6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.""
This is what i took from this passage
1 - God keeps his promises, in spite of us, so be sure that you are doing what you are supposed to be doing
2 - words, such as committing to God to follow his will, without faith are meaningless
3 - Those who have faith enter into rest - peace - God's will for your life
6 - disobedience = no rest
7 - God has a plan for your life and in his time rest - peace - fulfillment will happen, so be obedient, and listen up.

Just my take on this, if you have another thought I would like to know :-)

So something I didn't mention is that already God has made provision for us,
We received a letter in the mail from the IRS - usually not a good thing - but in this case it was GREAT, they had approved our revised tax returns and are sending us a nice refund check in the next 2 weeks.

I was talking to some friends after church and I realized how much God has done for us in the past year or so. I am listing a few things here as praises.

Drason put his hand through the bathroom shower wall, turns out it was water damaged we priced out tile and supplies at about $300.00 plus installation- the next day I went to Lowes and was talking to a guy who gave me a shower surround for 50 bucks

Two days before Thanksgiving 2006, and for the first time in 8 or 9 years my entire family will be together and my stove blows up - I call a friend and they say it will be 200.00 to fix it, well I had about 250.00 I could spend, so I decide to check out Lowes and they have the most perfect GE oven - for $450.00 -which I can't afford. So I am walking to my car and I am so discouraged and I want to go home but I feel impressed upon to go to the Home Depot (some of you are rolling your eyes - too bad for you) so all the way there I am thinking - geez, they aren't going to have anything, but I'll go anyways - all the way to 21st street, in the rain and the cold. So I get there and I am looking around and they don't have anything any better priced. I get ready to go and I stopped and talked to a sales girl who tells me that they have a few returns she will check out for me - low and behold they have the IDENTICAL GE OVEN in beige (which happens to match my kitchen) which was returned due to the color for .........................................$250.00

We had just moved into our home and when we closed they told us that rather than the customary 30-60 days before a payment, our first payment would be in 15 days - yikes, We knew this was the house God wanted for us so we went ahead and closed. About a week later we get a check back from the escrow because they miscalculated our insurance and taxes - what do you know it was enough to pay our mortgage.

A few months later we were short on the bills for some reason and a check shows up in the mail for 6 or 7 hundred dollars where the home we had moved out of, the propane company had come out and emptied the tanks and refunded us the cost of the fuel that was there - out of the blue - we wouldn't have known the difference had they kept the money.

I can't even tell you how many times I have been having a bad day and opened an email from a friend - like the cross one the Salyers sent out a few weeks ago - and just felt better, encouraged by a friend in Christ. Or had someone tell me that they had been praying for me and my family. Or had the opportunity to pass on the joy that comes from just living one day at a time to person who needed a pick me up.

I came home from Church tonight wanting to disown Mason for how he was acting - He is still among the living- but I did call his Daddy and send him to bed. How easy it is to get pulled down by the smallest things - like a tired kid - and just want to throw up both hands and quit. And for those of you who may read this and know just how distracting Mason was - I'm sorry, I think I let that go on way too long, I hope I can find someone to watch the boys next time.

This is a long blog - so what is the point ?

Have Faith! Life is not going to be all roses and sunshine, but if every time something bad had happened we had run away, ignored God, tried to figure out "the plan" ahead of Him - the "Today" that was promised would have never gotten here.

Enough for now,
Amanda

Latest News

I'm not really sure how to say this, so I'm just going to come right out with it.

I quit my job, I am persuing music and being a Mom full time.

These past few months I have been so afraid, and that fear kept me from any action. I was talking to some good friends after church Sunday and they so wisely pointed out how we allow ourselves to be spiritually bound by money and bills. Signing a mortgage you can't afford, not managing money wisely, is akin to holding out your hands to satan and saying "put the cuffs on."

While quitting my job might seem extreme to some, I have no doubt that it was EXACTLY what I was supposed to do, I also have no doubt that the Lord will provide for us - and that while we may need to make some changes - they will result in a more fullfilling life and walk with our Lord.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us, I am so blessed to have friends like you. I am working on scraping together funds to get some of my music recorded - When this happens I will post it here.

We love you guys!
Amanda

Blog World Disaster

I managed to crash my blog tonight, I think I finally have it up again.
Since I was already working on it I figured I would change the template.
If you notice odd things, it is after midnight :-)
See you tomorrow
Amanda

Gardening

Some of you may know that I like to garden. My grandfather and I gardened together when I was a little girl and it has always held a special place in my heart.
This year I decided to try to plant a garden from seeds. I knew that Grandpa had usually been able to plant seeds in the early spring, in the house, and then when the danger of frost had past, plant the new plants outside.

So I planted the seeds, seeds for tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, lettuces, everything that sounded good to me. Everyday I watched this tray of seemingly pointless dirt, watering it, spending hours of my life focused on getting those tiny seeds to sprout. After a couple of weeks the sprouts started, and the plants grew.

Now my garden is grown and I have literally spent hours weeding, watering, adding fertilizer, inspecting and harvesting the plants. Tomorrow we are having stuffed green peppers for dinner, I grew most of the ingredients, and I have to say I am rather proud of myself.

I have wondered why Jesus often used examples of gardening, things growing, to teach.

How do we plant seeds?
Seeds come from full grown plants - you can't take seeds from a baby plant, there is no fruit from which to gather the seeds.

Maybe this is why we are cautioned on not bearing fruit (John 15:1-8)

How do you protect a baby plant from withering up? Keep it in the house and nourish it.

Could this be why we are intructed to lift up one another? Maybe why Paul instructed the churches to care for Timothy?

How about time spent tending those seeds ?
How can we grow a baby plant into a full grown vine?

Galations 6:7-10 "Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith."

Isn't it also true of our own spiritual growth? Time spent tending to our spiritual garden will produce "fruits of the spirit" Galatians 5:22-23

As we approach revival my prayer is for spiritual growth, both for myself and for our church. There are so many seeds to plant.

Goodnight
Amanda

The 20-60-20 approach to life

This is a counseling term that was introduced to me today, so let me explain

The theory is simply

20% of life will exceed your expectations- good things will happen

60% of life is up for interpretation - neither good or bad, just up to you and how you see it

20% of life will fall short of your expectations - bad things will happen

On the surface this might not seem so bad
Put this in reality terms - 3 out of five days will be ho hum, nothing great, nothing awful- just another day
One out of five will be great
One out of five will be terrible

Lets say you read 5 books ? only one will be memorable or remarkable.

Have 5 friends? Maybe one will be a close one

What if I told you that you would have to buy 5 cars before you got a great one? Would you buy a car from me?

When you live for the here and now I guess this is all you have to hope for.

What can the world offer you? hope for one good day out of five, as a way to cope with a life without God.

"John 10:10 The thief cometh not but to steal and to kill and to destroy. I( Jesus) am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. "

I see people everyday that are reaching out for help, they have "hit bottom" so to speak. It breaks my heart that many of them have no Savior, no hope, no trust, no eternal salvation, no light at the end of the tunnel, nothing to look forward to but 1 good day out of 5. As a counselor this is all I can offer them, but as a Christian it is my sincere desire and duty to offer more.
I hope and pray our church will burn with the desire to reach out to those in our community, and those that have reached out to us.
What would life be without faith and hope in Jesus? One good day out of five, and an eternity in Hell.

I think that says it all
Amanda

Comings and Goings

Things have settled down a bit here at home. We are in a period of waiting to see what it is God has in store for us. Pray for us, I have the feeling we are both about to be going through some career/job changes. Drason is leaving for Maine in about a week, pray for this mission trip and for us - I don't know what I am going to do about babysitting for that week.
The boys start school on the 22nd , they are excited to go back - but I miss them already :-(

We had a great evening at Church tonight, the message this morning and tonight tied together well and really hit home. On that note, I am looking for a good devotional book, any ideas?
Goodnight,
Amanda

Life can return to normal, right?

VBS is over, it was great but sometimes exausting. I can't imagine how tired Sam and Amy must be, a new baby and a week of VBS, I don't think I could have survived that! You guys deserve a major thank you! (and possibly a vacation)
Anyways, here I was thinking we would relax at home this week, not a chance. Drason has football camp this week, and since he is coaching the boys he has to be there, (it is much like VBS except for the tackling.)
I really enjoyed Pastor Wally's message Sunday night, it was a great follow up to the morning message. He hit on some really key points and on the heels of VBS it was a great time to hear that message. (Could it be that God's timing is perfect? hmmm...)
See you later
Amanda

VBS is here

VBS is here. What a great first night with the kids. We have a BUNCH of kids. It is such a blessing to see kids really enjoying themselves and learning about God. Macguines, Marshal and Mason each invited a friend.

Macguines invited Will

Marshal invited Ricky and

Mason invited Gabe - whose Mom brought him and his brother Tyler.

I had a blast. There is nothing better than being the taxi for 5 lively and happy kids.

Afterwards we stopped and got ice - cream . Please pray for VBS, and for the literally hundreds of kids that will be at our church this week. For some of them this might be the only chance they have to experiance the love Jesus.

That's all for now,

Amanda

Congratulations Jessica and Blaze

May God bless you in your life together!

New Stuff

You might notice, I have added some pictures- like a slide show. This is for those of you who have said "We don't have any pictures" (look, Mom) So, this seems like an easy and fun way to share them . If you have a blog and you want to add a slide show you can click on mine and it will link to a page that can help you do this - it is really easy.

Anyhow - still reading my book - more on that later. Jessica and Blaze are getting married tomorrow. Pray for them - they are some of our aforementioned friends.

that's all for now,
Amanda
to

Back in town again

Yes, we are back home tonight, safe and sound. We had fun at the Renaissance festival and around Lake Erie.
My camera battery died, but I think I may be able to get a copy of our picture from a local TV station that was at the festival and loved our costumes.
Anyways, just wanted to say a quick hello, let everyone know we are home safe and sound, and then collapse.
Good night
Amanda

New book

I recently started reading a book "Rise Up" by Dr. Anthony L. Jinwright (I believe that he is the pastor of the greater Salem Baptist Church).

2 or 3 years ago I went into the Christian book store and they had several books on clearance and I bought this book thinking I would someday read it, it sounded interesting, and then I forgot about it.

Last weekend we went to a fellowship with our connect group and somehow got onto the topic of books we had read and enjoyed. I brought a book to Sunday School the following day for friends of ours and I remember thinking, when I pulled that book off the shelf, that I should read this book.


So I've started - and I have been surprised.

This book was copyright in 2002, so I am assuming these figures are fairly accurate

According to this book:

Less than 35% of Americans attend church on any given weekend

Less than 15% of person's 30 and under attend

That is depressing to say the least. These kinds of figures make me want to weep. For those of you who know us, we are both under 30 and when I think of our non-church friends, this is surprisingly accurate. Yes, some of our non- church friends say that they "believe in God" and that is well and good - but do they have a relationship with Jesus Christ? Not likely. Don't think that we haven't invited our friends to church - we have, but they are genuinely uninterested.

When I ask them why they refuse to attend the answers are always the same. They just don't see the point - they think Churches are filled with fakes. This reminds me of something Pastor Noel said several weeks ago. The number one reason people go to Church for the first time? They know a believer. The number one reason they will never go to Church? same thing.

This book is a challenge to believers to "Rise Up" and live the way Christ intended us to.
It presents some challenging questions:

Recall one time God really used your words or your life to make an impact? What did this do for you and for those who heard your words

What does it mean to you to be anointed with the Holy Spirit?

If you were really to "Rise Up" in your life what would this mean for you? for your church(what would change)? for your family?

What reservations do you have about this?

John 10:10
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0883687607/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-6388300-5512053#reader-link
See you soon
Amanda

Latest News

What's new?
It has been a while since I really posted last.
This weekend will prove to be a busy one, I'm sure. Tomorrow is Baseball awards day - the season is over (finally :-) and both Macguines and Marshal did very well. Soccer ended a few weeks ago and Mason was disappointed, but he got a soccer goal for his birthday so that didn't last long.



This weekend is also Jessica's Wedding Shower - she will be getting married in a few weeks - keep her and Blaze in your thoughts.

Also we have a church fellowship later in the day on Saturday and it will be nice to see some friends that we haven't got to fellowship with in a while.

Happy Summer and see you soon
Amanda

Congratulations Simeon and Erica !

We wish you all the best as you begin your lives together,

God bless you!

Great News

After much prayer we have an Awesome praise!

We have discussed Drason taking a second job for some time now. We thought that it was best that I stay home with the boys this summer and also important that I am able to be involved with their school in the fall. We have really prayed that God would provide us a way that Drason would not be exhausted and so that I could stay home with the boys.
We serve a mighty God, who knows what is best, even when we need to learn patience.
Last week my boss called me into his office. I currently work about 45-50 hours every two weeks and work evenings and weekends so that Drason or I can be with our boys. I was pleasantly surprised to hear how pleased he had been with me and he offered me a promotion, a substantial raise, and with almost the same schedule.
This neatly solved both of our concerns.
Praise God, whose mercy and blessings abound!

Happy Father's Day

Hi!
It's been a while since my last post, like I said we are super busy this time of year, however we took time out today to celebrate father's day.

To Drason,

Soothing voice to quiet fears
Stong hands to pick you up
Honest eyes offer support
patience when the day runs long
Steady through the storm

You are all of these things and more
Thank you for being a wonderful husband and a father
WE LOVE YOU!

Summer is here - almost

It is almost Summer.... and you may not see us around much, but I assure you we have not fallen off the face of the planet. This is the time of year when we seem to be the busiest. With Baseball, swimming lessons, library days and so much more we may not get to see you as often as we would like.
Around here weekends are for catching up and cook outs, so feel free to call us or stop by any Saturday afternoon.
We will be busy a few Saturday's that we know of so I'll let you know up front which ones you may not find us at home:

June 9th - Mom's Birthday
June 16th - Jessica's "Bachelorette" party at The Beach water park near Cincy
June 23rd- Simeon and Erica's Wedding
June 30th - Jessica's Bridal Shower and possibly Amy's baby shower? and maybe a church get together? - We won't be home all weekend, I'm sure!
July 7th - Kim's Birthday
July 14th - Blaze and Jessica's Wedding

Towards the end of July we would like to have a cookout/luau some Saturday evening.

See you soon,
Amanda

Mason's in the house....Woop Woop

Mason is officially out of school for the year, He is turning 5 on Monday, and will be going to Kindergarden at Lakewood next year.

We are so proud of him, and maybe I am biased, but I think he is the coolest Mason, Ever!

Also, You are invited to a cookout/birthday party for Mason on Saturday, May 26th from 2p-4p. We are having hamburgs, hotdogs, chips, and cake!



Happy Birthday to my Baby!



See you soon!

Amanda and Mason ;-)

New Sounds

Hey everyone,
My sister showed me how to add music to my blog! This is so cool, or maybe I am easily impressed, anyways, let me know what you think.

To add this to your blog all you need to do is go to www.projectplaylist.com and sign up for an account. Build your play list by searching for music and adding songs. When you are ready click on the "add my playlist to myspace" button, as you go through you will see where it asks if you want to generate code for blogger, click to get your code.
Copy the code.
Then in blogger go to your "customize" link, add a feature, you will see where it says add links, list and so on, select the Configure HTML/JavaScript. Then paste your code, save your changes and you are good to go!
And if you get tired of listening, just scroll down- the player is on the lower right hand side - and hit pause.
Neat!
See you soon,
Amanda

A Good Day... One of many it seems.

Today was really just a good day.
Sunday School was interesting, we seem to get off topic sometimes, but we always wind up where we need to be.
We got onto the topic of "Spiritual Mentoring" - this isn't a new term for me, but it might be for some, and may need some explanation. What is a Spiritual Mentor?
Let's see - the bible actually gives us some examples of spiritual mentors in the New Testament. Paul was a "spiritual mentor" to Timothy, now this doesn't mean that he beat him over the head with the Bible, or that he bossed him around. But Paul watched out for Timothy and tried to make sure that he was cared for. The Apostle Paul wrote Timothy - who he was spiritually mentoring - instructing him to entrust to some faithful men the things that he had taught him, these men would in turn teach others to do the same (2 Timothy 2:2). This model is still relevant, and can be a way to reach out to other Christians who are struggling, without judging or the notorious "righteous confrontation" (which is usually no such thing)

What did Timothy gain from Paul that he should pass on to others, and teach them so that they might pass it on? 2 Timothy 3:10-11 gives us an idea when Paul wrote, "you know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings ..." Timothy saw Paul's faith integrated within all aspects of his life and how it shaped his very existence.
Spiritual mentoring is one person coming alongside another as a companion on the journey of faith to help them answer the questions "Who is God?", "Who am I in Christ?", and "To what has God called me as I live out my life?"
Timothy submits himself to Paul. Acts 17:15, Acts 19:22, 1 Corinthians 4:17, and accepts his direction. Their relationship is seen growing throughout the New Testament starting in Acts 16:1 when they meet and continuing through Hebrews. Early on Timothy is an assistant, Acts 19:22, but is later referred to as a son, 1 Corinthians 4:17.
Spiritual mentoring isn't a new concept. - It is about loving other believers and coming along side them to help them grow in their faith - and an added benefit? By being a "spiritual mentor" you will grow, too!

Anyways, we had a nice lunch today with a family from our church - you know who you are- FYI Drason finally got the chicken cooked all the way through - and we have just enough time for a nap.
Enough for now,
Love you all bunches and hope to hear from you soon!
Amanda

Great Weekend

We had a super day Saturday.
Mason had soccer in the morning and he scored his first goal, they run really fast for little kids so I didn't get a picture of the goal... just his feet - he is the one in the blue socks ....

Marshal finally has overcome his fear of sliding into home plate, the only problem? He slid too soon and wound up stopping 6 feet before the plate. Good thing T-ball is just for fun and they don't keep score :-)

Then we had a picnic lunch and it was time for Macguines' game. He made 2 great hits, scored his first run of the season, and got to play catcher -


On top of that he batted in the winning run, whoo hoo Macguines!

Mother's Day was extra special this year. As many of you know Grandma Keen has been in and out of the hospital and nursing home and suffered another stroke last Tuesday. She was in LMH for the rest of the week, but they released her Saturday evening and she was able to come over to the house for a nice Mother's day lunch. Even our aunts and uncles from out of town were able to stop by and see her. We had a great party and were able to spend some real quality time with our mothers and grandmothers.
Love you all bunches and see you soon,
Amanda

Busy Times

With Baseball, T-ball, Soccer, Karate, AWANA's. Children's Choir, Mother's Day and Mason's birthday coming up fast, it has been difficult to find time to post anything. I must not be the only one feeling this way, because I have noticed that many of our friends haven't been posting either.

Why do we get so caught up in the day to day life?

I am reminded of something a counselor friend told me several years ago. People stay busy because it is easier to be a "human doing" rather than a "human being". What she meant was it is easy to get caught up in a busy life, and miss what is really important.

Yesterday I felt like I hadn't seen Drason in about a month, with opposite schedules, and so many activities it seems like we never have "us" time.

Last night, after the stars came out, he asked me to go outside and star gaze with him.

You really feel small compared to all that, and greatly loved.

So if you get a chance today, enjoy the beautiful day outside, or go star gazing tonight!

See you soon,

Amanda

PS. Trying out a new template, what do you think?

Awana's awards

Macguines and Marshal had Awana's awards night, last night and we were so proud of them. Mason had Cubbies awards a few weeks ago, and he did really well too. They didn't get started in Awana's until April and both were able to complete their 1st book. Here are some pics.

Callings

How does one understand a "call". I have really struggled with this for several years while I tried to figure out what God wanted me to do with life. There were always some things that I knew I should do, but how does one know what they are called to do?
I can remember when Drason and I were first married and I felt very strongly that I was supposed to be a good wife and later a good mother, but this wasn't God calling me to do these things, this was just common sense. As a Christian there are going to be some common sense things we need to do.
Later on I remember when Grandma Keen first started to get sick, and needed 24 hour a day care, I remember feeling a burden to help her and ended up staying with her 2-3 nights a week. I also helped organize other family members, and nurses aides, so that she would have 24 hour a day care. Was this God's calling? Yes and no. Yes we as Christians are called to care for the sick, among other things,(Matthew 25:37-46) Jesus tells the disciples that when they care for the sick they care for him. But this was not God's call to serve him with my life, I felt this was what I was supposed to be doing because it is God's will that we do these things, everyday, or whenever the opportunity presents itself.
From this experience I met a Nurse who asked me "Are you a social worker?" and when I told her I was not she said "You should be." Now that had never happened before, and I was looking for direction, purpose in my life, so I started back to college, and before long it was clear that this was where God wanted me. I found a job in the field after being in school a few months, and was able to work there until I graduated. During this time I felt on track with God's plan, I know that this was God's call for me, and all in all I have worked in the field for about 7 years. I have enjoyed being a social worker and now a counselor. I love being able to share my experience strength and hope with others who are struggling.
But in November of 2005 things started to fall apart for me. I lost a good paying counseling job, I went on unemployment and I struggled to find a job for almost 6 months. I ended up taking a job, in sales, that I knew(nobody is perfect!) was the wrong place for me because I thought "We have to have some money coming in." (Me taking control winds up poorly - I quit about 3 months later)
I felt resentful that I had lost that counseling job, and then resentful that the job I took in April 2006 was not the place for me. I felt angry with myself for creating this mess and then for sitting in it rather than cleaning it up. And I felt thankful that God is merciful, and forgiving, and is still patient with me. I had worked for LAPP during this entire time, on a part time basis, and I began to get more hours in September 2006.
Since September we have been financially solvent, however, I know that LAPP is not the place that God wants me, it is merely a stop over on the way to somewhere else. After all of this I started praying, God what do you want me to do? I still had some ideas about getting another counseling position, volunteer work in the community....but nothing seemed to pan out. (What are the odds of a non-profit agency rejecting a well qualified counselor as a volunteer? Apparently 100%.)
God is working even when we don't know it.
About 1-2 weeks before Easter Pastor Noel preached on experiencing a complete spiritual collapse, and I have to tell you I sat there thinking, "That was me."
Drason just told me this the other day, he said he was mowing the lawn last summer and listening to the radio. He said a commercial came on about a Christian music web cast that accepts unsolicited demos. He said that when he heard this he realized that he could get me a gift certificate to a recording studio for Christmas. He said God told him to do this.
My first question was - why didn't you tell me?- he says to me, because I wasn't supposed to, this was something you had to figure out for yourself.
So after Christmas, (because he gave me the gift certificate) I started thinking about this, and almost immediately dismiss it as a husband who thinks highly of his wife. But it kept nagging at me, that I need to do this, I need to figure out how to do this. I started praying about it and I felt like I wasn't getting any clarity, so I kept praying and praying and praying.
About 2-3 weeks ago this was so heavy on my heart, and I was driving in my car, I felt so strongly that I had to pull over, and emotionally cried out to God, "What do you want from me? What do you want me to do?" and He answered, clearly, without any doubt, without anything that depended on me- He answered.
Why did it take so long to know for sure? Maybe God was waiting until I was at the point that I was really listening, maybe he knew that I needed to go through all of these things so that I would know that he always provides a way for us. Maybe my heart wasn't right with him, and so he waited until it was.
Can a person be "called" more than once in their life? Yes, I think so. Just as we grow and change, the world is also changing. Maybe he calls us first to one place and then to another. I know I was called to be a counselor and that now I am called to something else.
The most important thing I have learned is that we can know, for sure, God's purpose for us. God has a plan for each of us, we just need to seek this plan and listen for his call. It's not about a feeling, or anything material or prideful, it is simply about His plans for you . Jeremiah 29:11-14 11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

Great Day today

We had a super day today. The boys had fun at their sports and their auntie Kim came to cheer them on.
Macguines hit the ball, but was tagged out on first. He has been doing really well and loves to play, he even stayed awake in the outfield, rather than playing in the grass like a lot of the kids do.
Marshal was supposed to play today, but their game was cancelled, he will play next week for sure.
Mason is in soccer and he is very good at this. He is one of the best on his team, (this could just be parental bias, nah) maybe it is because he had his brothers to practice with.

On another happy note, Kim, my sister, is coming to church with us tomorrow - yea! - She currently attends Spring Hill Baptist in Granville with our parents, and will be coming out to Heath just to check out the new Sunday school class for young adults. She is kind of shy about going to Sunday school by herself, so make her feel welcome.
It is really neat to see how God will draw people to where he is working!

Love you all bunches and talk to you soon,
Amanda

Hi :-P

Hi Everyone,
This week I have been babysitting my sister, she had 4 wisdom teeth pulled on Wednesday and has had a rough go of things.
The last tooth that had to be removed was grown into the bone and when it was pulled it flew out of her mouth and hit the wall. Poor Kim!
Also just as an FYI, I am posting the boys schedules for Baseball and soccer. All events are at TJE

Mason
Saturdays 9a-10a for the next 8 weeks

Marshal and Mac 10a-12p for the next 8-10 weeks.
Mac is hitting from a pitching machine and Marshal is still in t-ball, so we are super busy.

By the way, Kim is single and 20. She is convienced that there aren't anymore nice guys out there. I have invited her to come to the new sunday school class that is starting up this Sunday. Pray that she will come!
Thanks
Amanda

God has a plan

We had such a busy week this week it is hard to know where to start, all I can say is the Lord provides for all of our needs, even before we know we need them.
Wednesday we finally broke down and bought Drason a riding mower, the poor guy had been push mowing since last fall when our rider blew up. We were just happy that we had the money to do this.
Then on Thursday we got a call from park national bank that they were going to take the car. The Taurus was part of Drason's grandfathers probate estate and although we had been making payments on it, they would not allow us to keep it unless we refinanced it, which at the end of the day was not worth the cost, and they were not flexible, so they demanded the car immediately. We really weren't sure what we were going to do for a vehicle. We had looked around a bit last month when we found out that this might happen, but we really hadn't settled on anything. As it turned out we both had Friday off, so we set out to find a car.
We asked God to show us what he would have us do, and lead us to the car that we were supposed to have. We visited about 4-5 lots but nothing felt right, one car would have too many miles, another would be too small. All day, it kept coming up, that we might want to look at an SUV, we had seen one that we liked about a month ago, but it was priced so that we weren't sure we could afford it, but for some reason it kept coming up. We kept praying, and looking, and finally we both came up with the same thing, we felt we should go out and check on that SUV from a month ago. All the while I was thinking, this is going to cost too much, we have already tried this once, they probably have sold it already, and all of the other reasons why I thought this wouldn't work. We went anyways, because we felt such an impression that we should do so. (Thankfully the Lord is still patient with me.) We pull into the lot, and ask to see inside the vehicle, and the owner says,out of the blue, "We just lowered the price on that one a few days ago." and shows us the car. The price had been lowered significantly. GOD PROVIDES. We ended up paying less than we were paying on the Taurus. What a blessing.
After we left the dealership, as the owners of the SUV, we couldn't help but think that this had all been planned to show us that God will always take care of us, no matter what the circumstances are, no matter how disappointing it is when things don't go the way we thought they would, God has a plan for us. I have to say that approaching big decisions with prayer really pays off. Wednesday we prayed about the lawn mower, we were paying cash and it was a lot of money to part with, but we both felt at peace with the decision. God knew what Thursday would hold, but we did not. Because we prayed about both decisions first we had a peace with them. When Thursday came we didn't freak out about the lawn mower because we knew that He would not have led us into trouble. What a blessing we received knowing that God care enough to supply the little things in life, comforts us and is sufficient to supply all of our needs.

On top of all this Marshal turned 6 on Friday( we were joking that he got the SUV for his birthday, but he wasn't buying), had his party Saturday and had several school friends over to the house. He really loves all of his toys and especially the robot dino that grandma and grandpa gave him.

This week is "Global Focus" week for our church. This is basically a revival centered around missions, both near and far. Keep our church in your prayers as we move forward with this. This is something that Drason and I had really desired in a church and it has been a blessing to be a part of a church that believes in outreach.
That's all for now,
Love you all bunches and hope to hear from you soon,
Amanda

Great Day

We had a great day at Church today. We got to meet the prospective worship pastor and we had a good turn out.
Macguines was baptised and was really happy.


All of his Grandma's, Grandpa's, Aunts and Uncles were there to see him, too. Thanks to everyone for coming! and we were especially happy that Grandma Keen could come out to Church today. She seems to be doing better and she hopes she will be able to return home soon.

Thanks for all of the prayers and continue to pray that she will be able to return to her home soon.
Love you all bunches and see you soon!
Amanda

Happy Easter!

I am a little late in posting this as we have had a super busy week this week.
The boys looked so cute in their Easter suits, unfortunately I didn't get a great picture of them. I'll try again this week.

Macguines is growing up so fast it is amazing to me how much children understand. Macguines asked Jesus into his heart about 2 weeks ago, we have talked to him and although I never would've thought that he was ready at such a young age, I feel that he is genuine and understands his decision. He is going to be baptised at Church tomorrow. Praise God!

Tonight was the Last Call Outreach, Open Arms Shelter, Benefit Concert. I was so please to have been able to sing at this event!
I have said it before and I will say it again, if you don't know what Last Call is check out the link at the bottom of this page. They are doing some AMAZING things there and I hope everyone of you will get involved.
At church, our new Worship Pastor arrived and I was able to meet him briefly tonight before the concert.

Like I said we have been super busy but also super blessed!
That's all for now,
Love you all bunches and hope to hear from you soon
Amanda

How do bunnies lay eggs?

This is what Marshal asked me yesterday and I was sort of taken by surprise. "Bunnies don't lay eggs!" I said. We had a little talk about Easter. It seems like we have this conversation every year, when asked what Easter was about Marshal said, "Bunnies and chicks and eggs."
I reminded Marshal that Easter is about Jesus, and that Jesus died for us so that we could live.
"Then who puts the eggs down on the ground?" he asks
"Adults do, so that kids can find them, is that weird or what?" I replied. WE talked a little bit about Jesus and why he died for us.

Satisfied for now, Marshal went upstairs to play. Marshal is at the age where he is full of questions, I am so thankful that he asks them. Even though we have talked about this is our home, he was still wondering. This makes me more conscious to look for ways to protect him for secular messages, and instill in him the truth about the matter.

I remember my parents giving Easter baskets and always including a bible verse in the plastic eggs, or "another gift from Jesus" in the basket. I believe I was given a bible for Easter one year.
I have continued this with my own children to help in teaching them the true meaning of Easter, and to spark just such a discussion.
This is one of my favorite times of year, Jesus is risen! Praise God!

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

It is SO cold outside that my fingers hurt typing this. I just got home from choir practice and I can hear the boys playing upstairs, they must be excited about Awana's I heard they received a "jewel" tonight. Macguines had a good night tonight, more on that later.
Drason and I celebrated our 8Th wedding anniversary yesterday, yippee! We both had to work so we didn't celebrate yet, I think we will go out this Sunday.
In other news...... we have a new worship pastor (song leader for those of you who are wondering) coming in around April 14Th?? and we are really excited to meet him, I've heard that he and his family are about our age and have kids too.
Think spring and hopefully it will be here soon, I can't wait until this Sunday, it should be great, I was getting kind of teared up during one of the songs we are singing this week. In case you are wondering we are having 2 services this Sunday, one at 8am and one at 10:45am that's First Baptist Church in Heath (Big church on 30Th street) See you soon!

Busy day at church today

We had quite the busy day at church today. The boys sang in the children's choir they did such a good job, even though they had trouble standing still.

After the sermon Drason and I were baptised.
Drason and I had been "sprinkled" after we became Christians, I think for the convenience of the churches we each attended at that time, however today we were dunked :-)

I wasn't really sure what I thought about this, but after looking into it further we thought this was probably best. First off because in the Bible people were baptised by submersion, as a symbol of the old passing away and the new life that had begun, but also as an act of submission to our new church.
All in all a great day! Mom and Dad and brothers and sisters came to church with us today, too. We like having them and hope they will continue to come, their churches senior pastor recently resigned so keep them in your prayers
Love you all bunches and hope to hear from you soon
Amanda

We're Ba-ack..........

We went out of town for a few days and we really needed the break! We didn't get to go to Florida as we would have liked to, but we did get to go to Cincinnati. We went to the Zoo and then to the Loveland Castle, we even saw some manatees. We had a great time and are blessed to have the rest.
Here are some of the better pics, just ignore the dates, I can't figure out how to fix the date on the camera yet
Love you all bunches and hope to hear from you soon
Amanda

Just another day

Today Mom and I went out to the JCPenny outlet, she wanted new curtains for the living room and said she wanted to take advantage of my "artistic eye". I'm not sure how good my eyes are, but we did find some pretty things while we were there. I also got some good deals on clothes for all the boys (including Drason) and suits for Easter.

The boys had AWANA's tonight, they all have their vests now and they are so proud, our oldest was all about chatting up the pastor to show his off tonight. Macguines and Marshal have been working really hard to memorize their verses, they worked on them a little bit on the way to Columbus today. Mason needs help with his verses, but he is also doing a great job.

The boys are also in the children's choir and they will be singing this Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed!
Drason has the rest of the week off, being that this is Spring break week for the boys, and I think we may go out of town for a few days.
Well that is enough mindless chatter for now,
Love you all bunches and hope to hear from you soon
Amanda

Sunday School .....

I went to Sunday school today, and I didn't say much because we are new and I was kind of shy (hard to imagine, I know.)
We were talking about Joshua 23:11-16, disobedience and sin, and how easy it is to get into this.
Something that the teacher pointed out was that sin ensnares us in a sneaky way and I have used this same principal when teaching IOP groups.
1.When you are around sin constantly
2.You will eventually accept it
3. and end up defending it

Somehow we got onto the topic of having alcohol in our homes, and I heard several people say that they do not have alcohol in their homes as a way to show the world that they are different. One might think that this sort of thing would be right up my alley....
I kept wondering, when was the last time I had the world in my home? When I think about "the world", I think non Christians. I would have to say that the last time I had non-Christians in my home would have been last September?? at Macguines' birthday party? I don't really invite a whole lot of non-Christians into my home, so where do I meet people who need the Lord?

As I thought about this I remembered a past job I had where I was the only Christian working there, slowly, sneakily my own values ( caring for individuals, a burden for helping people) were eroded to match those of my co-workers. Then I thought of my present job, and realized I had to work today. I had to leave the morning service early so that I would be on time to work. A light bulb went off...

Instead of just refraining from the use of alcohol in our homes, or at the once a year Christmas party, how about not participating in the water cooler gossip, or being totally upfront and honest in all of our business dealings(even if the boss discourages this), or not allowing work to take precedence over our Lord.

Two examples come to mind about this: I had a lady in one of my groups (recovering from alcoholism) who told me she could not keep from going to bars because her boss and all of the popular crowd at work go to the bars afterwards and make business deals over their 5:00 drinks. I pointed out to her that by participating in this she was willing to risk sobriety and therefore her life.... and she still chose to go. She, as many of us do, seemed to define her values by a paycheck and what the popular crowd might think.

When we refuse to gossip, avoid the after work for drinks, stop participating in shady business dealings, or refuse work during Church times, we set ourselves apart (1 Peter 1:14-16 "As obedient children, do not fashion yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance, but as He who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of living, because it is written: "Be ye holy, for I am holy." And 1Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.")

And we may not be a part of the popular crowd(Romans 8:17 "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory")

But everything we have is a GIFT from God (James 1:16-17 "Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.")

The second example is something that a co-worker in my profession said to me, she said "You are right to be concerned, but if you don't do as you are instructed, you may be fired."

God has given me everything that I have, it is his to have, to take, to use, however he sees fit. My Boss is in Heaven, not here. How can I act in a way that displeases the pay check giver, rather than the pay check signer. (Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?)

I hope that I have the courage to live in such a way, (everyday, not just at the once a year Christmas party)that people will see in me something worth living everyday for; that Christ is glorified and I am permitted to be a vessel filled with irresistible presence of the Lord, that the world will desire to have that same light within.

I had to tell my boss today that I won't be working during Church times anymore, and she was pretty understanding.

Love you all bunches and hope to hear from you soon,
Amanda