Taxes

I did my taxes today. And I'm getting a nice little refund, since I'm a student. I rejoice in the Lord continuing to provide for me, in lots of unexpected ways.

Spirit Filled

Those are the words I would use to describe my brother Ronnie up at the pulpit this morning. He preached today for the first time on a Sunday morning and did an AMAZING job. I rejoice in the chance to bear witness to the working of God in the lives of my siblings.

30 Hour Famine

The youth group and I went 30 hours without eating this last weekend. And we raised almost $2,000 to donate to World Vision in order to help put an end to hunger and illness around the world. I rejoice in the opportunity to help make a difference in the world. And to hopefully help our students see how blessed they truly are.

Sleeping in

I haven't done that in forever. But I did today. And it felt so good. I rejoice in the chance to catch up on sleep.

Spinach/Asparagus

I made another new recipe tonight! 2 for 2 on my monthly goals for that:) It was a yummy penne/spinach/asparagus dish and my family loved it. I rejoice in the chance to make yummy food and enjoy it in the company of family.

Tribe Planning

Today I had another meeting with our youth pastor to finalize plans for 30 Hour Famine this weekend. I'm so excited! I hope and pray that the Lord uses this event in our student's lives to impact them in big ways. I rejoice in the chance to be involved in preparing a very special event.

Tri-lingual

We had a tri-lingual service at church today. Not only was the service unique in that it was tri-lingual, we also heard from Andrew Loveall, the missionary down in Guatemala and had communion. It was a great morning of worship and praise. I rejoice in the opportunity to worship God with believers from all different backgrounds, especially culturally. The love of Christ is bigger than any difference :)

Guatemala Reunion

So the missionary from Guatemala, who our church goes down and serves with, is here to share with our church. Tonight we had a little get together with all the people who've been to Guatemala or who are interested in going. It was a fun little setting with the opportunity to hang out and reminisce a bit, and to hear about how the ministry is going. I rejoice in the opportunity to serve with great people, and to get together and celebrate our common bonds.

Family Dinner

For dad's birthday. Need I say more? I rejoice in being part of one amazing family! Thank you Jesus!

Cake Girl

I spent hours at church today, hanging out with Emily, while she worked on yet another amazing cake. You can see a few of her amazing creations here. I rejoice in the chance to keep that cute girl company, grow closer in our friendship, and even get some homework done. It was a great afternoon/evening.

Hangin with my sis

Rebecca. This morning and afternoon. It was fun :) I rejoice in good sister time. The Lord has definitely blessed me with siblings who are also my friends.

Skype Date

With Shannon. Those always make me rejoice. I rejoice in the blessing of being able to keep in touch with friends who are far away. And in the chance to both encourage and challenge one another on this journey called life. And that she is on the lookout for a cute boy for me ;) I simply rejoice in my amazing friend.

V-day Love

My friends Oliver and Laura (mostly Laura. haha) always do a great job of making me feel loved on Valentine's day. And this year was no exception. She brought me See's candy to work. And left a box of conversation hearts on my car. Is that cute or what? I rejoice in a good friend who wants to make me feel special, on day that's not necessarily so great.

Small Group+Pics

Whoa. I didn't blog for two days. Weird. I've been tired. haha.

Tonight I rejoice in my super great small group girls and the amazing discussions we've had the last few weeks. I love watching them growing and actually "getting it". Makes the last 4 years totally worth it :) Not only did we have a great discussion today, we also had a lil photo shoot. You can check out all the pics here, but here is my favorite...

Another step closer

I finished another Bold class tonight. Which means I am one step closer to being done. Crazy! But so exciting. I rejoice in the opportunity to get a great education and the knowledge that I will be finished before I know it!

The day is over

And boy am I glad. I rejoice in sleep...

The little ways God Provides

I babysat kids for my friend's Mops program today and got paid. Then I got asked to work a few extra hours at work. I rejoice in the chance to earn bits of extra income in a variety of forms.

Free Starbucks

I got a survey a couple weeks ago at Starbucks and all I had to do was go online and answer a couple questions and I got a free drink for doing so. Today I redeemed that. I rejoice in the chance to spend time studying while enjoying a super yummy drink that I would never pay that much for. Free things are for sure rejoice worthy :)

She gets it

I had a great, rather long conversation with my dear Emily tonight. We talked about a variety of things involving many different topics. But, most of them had to do with the journey we are on in following Jesus. I love seeing her heart and desire to know him more and become more like him. I rejoice in the evidence that the things we've talked about for the last 4 years actually mean something to her :)

To Save a Life

Is a great movie! And we watched it tonight with the youth group. I think it really challenged many of them to think about what they are living for and how they can make a difference in the world for Christ. I rejoice in the opportunity to experience a great movie with them and, more importantly, to watch the wheels in their head start spinning.

Friends AND Free Food

I had another day of double blessings :) My day started out with breakfast with my good friend Randi, who I haven't seen in forever. It was soo good to see her and catch up. And, she paid for my breakfast. Then, because I was in the area of my old job, I went by and saw some good friends there (Vern and Alissa). We ended up making lunch plans so I did homework in my car while they finished working. Then we went to a super yummy Thai food restaurant. It was so great to see them too! And, once again, Vernadette paid for my lunch. I rejoice in the chance to catch up with special people and for the Lord providing for me in very special ways!

Not one, but two

Skype conversations today. With 2 great friends. Catching up with good friends who are far away is definitely worth rejoicing in. And it makes the fact that I didn't work on homework during that time like I was planning on, that much more bearable:) I'll just remember the great conversations.

Walk for Ice Cream

With Kristi and Ava. That was the best part of my day. I rejoice in having a good friend to go hang out with spur of the moment. And I rejoice that she has an adorable kid who always makes me smile :)