Other things by jessica

Week 35 Blessings

2011-07-25T12:31:00.000-04:00

382. Last Tuesday night was a blessing to me, I learned a lot of new things and hope to be more aware of some of my behaviors. Sorry to be vague, but that's the way it is on this one!

383. I had a really rotten attitude last week and I've been blessed to be pulled out of that by many things orchestrated by my heavenly Father.

384. Friday evening was a worshipful turning point in that attitude, and I'm so thankful for it. I just know that when things seem like they're just awful, I really need to check my perspective and check my relationship with Christ. Thank you Lord for my quiet time with you, and time focused on you together with my husband. Please help us to maintain that focus so as not to grow distant. It hurts so much worse when we ignore God than when we give him our attention.

385. Thank you Lord for a restful Friday evening and Saturday morning after a hectic hectic week!

386. We were inspiring-ly blessed (as usual) by our visit with the Bachmans. They pour out so much love with everything they do in all their relationships and I am just so thankful for their friendship. Ray and I left them feeling excited about life, excited about serving God with our lives, and just completely encouraged and revived from a difficult week. We had a lovely evening of conversation, play time with Jadynn (yay for Pajama Party!) and inspiration. I'm realizing how important it is for us to make sure we surround ourselves with people like this.

387. Sunday was full of busy creativity for me. I love being inspired and motivated and busy for this reason, rather than just being busy. We're preparing for Kids Show Live, this year's theme: Space Quest! We helped out with some setting up at church, but then I went home and worked on my costume and some team sticker badges for the kids. I think it's all turning out pretty sweet, and I'm pumped about getting to wear my costume tonight. We'll have to see next week how it all turned out! Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post!

388. Coming into work on Monday morning feeling refreshed, especially spiritually. Feels so much better than the attitude I had last week!

Week 34 Blessings

2011-07-18T11:57:00.000-04:00

373. I was recently thinking about how blessed I am to have Abby at work. She has a great energy that gets me excited again about creativity and art, reminds me more of when we were in school together. :D

374. I was able to help out with the planning of a baby shower at work this last week, which I kind of got thrown into and did have a fair amount of confusion, but I'm glad I was able to do something for the new Mommy-to-be. Plus I got to brainstorm creative/crafty techniques with Angie & Abby. Again, the type of collaboration that feels like art school again. :D

375. This one may sound silly to some, but Ray and I finished watching season 6 of Bones, and all I have to say is I <3 Bones and it's been a blessing to watch it with my hubby during our relax-y time!

376. Thankfully the Lord kept me from getting sick this last week, I thought for sure I was coming down with something, but he kept my energy up to take care of all the things I needed to over the weekend! A restful Friday evening getting to bed early helped me with this as well!

377. Saturday was full of blessings. My hubby took me to see the final installment of Harry Potter in imax 3D. For once a movie that it was worth it for, plus the sound was really good. Lots of emotion could be heard from the audience and I was quite pleased with the results of this saga!

378. Then getting some house work done in between, we went out to the church to meet up with some of the kids from the youth group, and the upcoming 6th graders for an afternoon of pizza, mini-golf, and frozen treats at Wendy's. This was just something Ray and I wanted to do to get a chance to see the kids since we haven't been able to make it on Tuesday nights. We miss those kids! It was a blessing and a lot of fun. I'm so glad to be bonding with them!

379. We were blessed to greet many guests at the welcome center at Church this Sunday, I'm sure Charlie's preaching had something to do with it! ;)

380. Special guests also included Jonathan, Robynn, Jadynn, Jonathan Jr!!! and Robynn's brothers. We were excited to see the Bachman's out and about with baby!

381. We were blessed to have the time Sunday afternoon to finish preparing for our friend's arrival this week. The spare room is as clean as it can be without re-modeling, so hopefully our new roomie will be comfortable!

Week 33 Blessings

2011-07-11T12:15:00.000-04:00

367. I'm really enjoying helping out in our 6th grade transition group on Wednesday nights. The kids are fun and attentive and I'm glad to get to know them individually before they're swept into all the excitement of regular youth group.

368. I had fun working on the new flyer/postcard for Super Kids Show Live this year, the theme is "Space Quest" and I can't wait to put together a sweet costume for this...blessed to be able to help out with stuff like this!

369. Went to Angelica's birthday "rave" party on Friday night. It was fun seeing this group of friends and giving highlighter tattoos for the blacklight!

370. We were blessed to catch up with our friends Neil and Dana and honored they chose to hang out with us on one of their first outings while leaving baby Elliot with sitters (well family sitters, but still)! We enjoyed bowling with fun alias's and Ray's crazy dance moves. He really busted it out when Rebecca Black came on the bowling radio!

371. Working with the 4 & 5 year olds always gives us a fun story to tell, love working with those cute kids!

372. Delving into some John Piper from Passion at small group this week. Heavy, but good stuff. So glad our group is able to get together and support each other in prayer!

Week 32 Blessings

2011-07-05T12:21:00.000-04:00

360. I'm blessed by the new adventure we've started on, definitely being stretched but it's a good kind of stretch that is growing our marriage and how much we are going to have to rely on God.

361. Excited that we got to start bonding with some of the new 6th graders in the new transition age group on Wednesday night. Since we won't be able to make it to Youth Group on Tuesdays for a while, this is a great way to stay connected.

362. A really wonderful, really relaxing looong weekend. It was so nice to relax together and just get caught up on some house work/deep clean projects. There's still more to be done, but I'm glad we were very leisurely this holiday.

363. Getting the refrigerator nice and clean!!!!

364. Pastor Seth's message about the Sword of the Spirit was very convicting this past Sunday and just a really important reminder about the dedication and training it takes to really know God's word and be able to actually put it to use.

365. Also getting to watch Joshua and Andrew for Seth & Kristi Sunday evening. It is always a blessing to care for adorable kids like that!

366. We shared a nice early "picnic" style dinner with Mimi at Bay Village on the 4th, and were glad to get to visit her on this holiday!

Week 31 Blessings

2011-06-29T13:24:00.000-04:00

355. I should have included this in last weeks, can't believe I forgot to count this blessing! I finally finished reading the old testament, which means I've now read every book of the Bible at least once. Took me waaaay too long to accomplish this, but I'm still excited about it!

356. I was blessed to be able to catch up with Jared and then also Daniela during Ray's mission board meeting. I miss seeing our good friends on Tuesday nights!

357. The Lord blessed us with a relaxing quiet weekend. We had a great time visiting my parents on Saturday for a belated Father's Day celebration. We went to lunch at this great Mexican restaurant in Englewood, walked through the main road by all of the shops, and drove by my childhood house! It was a nice little day trip, almost like a mini vacation!

358. We are blessed to be able to go to the appointments we need to with our medical coverage. Ray went to the eye doctor for the first time in a long time and finally got the new glasses he really needed! He's also trying out contacts, which is a funny spectator sport for me ;)

359. SMALL GROUP!! Was awesome this week, I really felt the benefit of authentic fellowship and prayer with our good friends. We've been in need of this for a while. Glad to share our burdens with one another, lift each other up and provide accountability. Thank you Lord!

Week 30 Blessings

2011-06-20T13:12:00.000-04:00

348. Ray and I have been really blessed to embark on something new in our lives. It's going to require a lot of time, help from God, and our whole hearts, but we are excited to see what God will be doing! Unfortunately part of the process means we will be missing out on Youth Group most of the summer because of schedule conflict, bummer! We won't be missing out on camp though and hopefully we can come up with some creative ways to see the kids over the next couple of months! And I won't be so vague about this new adventure in the future, but for now that's how it is!

349. We are so blessed that Jonathan Milton Bachman, Jr. arrived on Wednesday (June 15th) at 11:59 pm! We have been praying for him for a long time and are so glad we got to meet him this weekend and even hold him! Thank you for allowing us to share in this special family time Jonathan, Robynn, Jadynn and Jonathan!

350. I've been so blessed to be joined by my friend Abby at work! We've had a great time catching up on our lives since Ringling, and it's just really nice to have another good friend in the workplace to talk to!

351. We are thankful for our friend Dan, and for being able to hopefully give him and his Dad some comfort during this continuing difficult time. We were able to spend some more time in his home for Shiva this week and share some more of the special memories of his Mom.

352. We're glad that Dan was also able to get out for a bit with us on Friday night, getting to see the new X-Men First Class movie, which we highly recommend!

353. It was a nice Father's Day to celebrate with Ray's Dad at their house, as Monday is also his birthday. We had hamburgers & hotdogs and the guys played Tiger Woods golf. Relaxing at least!

354. I also had a nice conversation with my Dad, glad to hear he was having a nice relaxing Father's Day as well. Hopefully I'll be blessed to spend some belated Father's Day time with him this weekend!

Week 29 Blessings

2011-06-13T12:41:00.000-04:00

346. This has been a week filled with blessings but also with sorrows. I am blessed to have known Carol Gray, my dear friend Dan's mother. We are filled with sorrow that she departed from us last week. We were blessed to pray for her, for Dan and his family during her long fight against leukemia. I was blessed to hear/follow her story of strength and positive, loving attitude in the midst of what would be unbearable circumstances for many others. We are blessed to spend so much time with her son whom she raised to be a wonderful man. Even though it was very difficult, we were blessed to grieve and say goodbye with Dan and his family at the services this weekend. I was blessed just to have ever met her, as is anyone who did.

347. Ray and I are very blessed to have shared 4 wonderful years of marriage together this past Friday, June 10th. I hope that we have many more to share together.

Week 28 Blessings

2011-06-06T12:19:00.000-04:00

336. Last week we had a lot to celebrate! Thursday we joined Ray's family for his Grandma Bunny's birthday dinner. I always enjoy being out with the whole family together!

337. Friday night we were blessed to go Downtown and hand out food and pray for people who really needed it. Our friend Jake came along and I think we were all blessed by those we encountered! The Lord's been teaching me that service is a lifestyle and not just a scheduled activity. I want to be more obedient to Jesus' call to follow him, now, and not in some distant future opportunity.

338. Saturday we had a delicious breakfast at Dutch Heritage before we set out on our weekend road trip. We have a friend who has a friend who works there, just so you know.

339. When we got to West Palm we were so blessed to spend the day with my Dad's whole family. We had a real reunion celebrating my Grandma Joan's 90th birthday!

340. My Aunt Karen is the manager of The Colony hotel and she shared her discount so that the family could stay and celebrate there. We had a really beautiful room that we would never have gotten to stay in otherwise!

341.We spent the afternoon at the pool with all my aunts, uncles, cousins and Grandma of course! It was nice to just relax after the long drive too!

342. That evening was the celebration dinner at one of the villas. Everything was so beautiful, and the food was delicious. But best of all was the company. I love seeing my Dad reminisce with his brothers and sisters!

343. We stopped for a church service at 1st Baptist in West Palm. It was a good sermon and great worship, but I'm sad to have missed a message from Jared at Grace! It is always kind of fun though to see how other churches are discipling, worshiping and how God's using their church family.

344. When we got back into town we got to celebrate some more with our friend Kyle Darby at his beach party get together. Congratulations on graduating Kyle!

345. And to top the weekend off we had a really great small group get together! It's so nice to have a bigger group again to pray with and learn about God with! We're so thankful to have good friends we can go to and depend on and to be able to do the same for them!

Week 27 Blessings

2011-05-31T16:43:00.000-04:00

325. Ray and I got to tag along in the Awana Awards Dinner for the leaders (yes we were the moochers of the group as usual since we do not serve at Awana). Though he did serve some official capacity by representing the Mission Board. We really enjoyed hearing from the Awana missionary Jim Lambeth. It's always a blessing and inspiration to see the many possible roles God has to offer in serving him!

326. A long day's work last week, though tiring, provided the opportunity to get to leave early from work today! Yay!

327. A LONG holiday weekend was soooo needed! I was blessed to have Friday and Monday off for Memorial Day weekend. :) :) :)

328. I got to go a-visiting on Friday! I went to visit my favorite teacher from high school, Mrs. Dacey! She still teaches upper-level art classes at Riverview, and I got to see the new campus too. I'm glad that Zach had been asking me to come and that I actually had a day off work when school was in session so I could visit. I showed some of my portfolio and examples of stuff from Bealls. It was fun!

329. I also got to visit with Mom and Cindy on Friday at Cindy's house. Just a quick visit with Mom cause she was headed out-of-town, and a lot of quality time with Cindy. I have such a great God-Mom, so loving and generous!

330. Did some (not lots) much needed cleaning this weekend. Which is not fun to do but feels good to have done.

331. Had some other couples over for a game night! We enjoyed playing some Apples to Apples and Cranium with Chris & Angela, David & Alyssa, and Sergio & Rhoda. And laughed so much! That's the best part about game night!

332. Sunday Ray and I were the team of teams for Combo Youth Group/Kids on a Mission sunday school hour and then 4's and 5's for church hour. It was tiring but lots of fun! So proud of making up our own game for the kids that didn't completely stink!

333. Sunday was full of special fellowship. We spent lunch with Adam, Angelica, Jared, Kim and Kerry and had some great conversations! Plus a little girl/guy time when the girls went to shop a little in the mall (even if just window-shopping!)

334. And we got to spend a really wonderful afternoon with our good friends the Bachmanns! They are staying by the beach so we got to swim and chat at the shore and in the pool while watching Jadynn play and learning to swim! It was beautiful, but I also know the time was really special because we were definitely soaking up the conversation more than our surroundings. I'm so thankful for our missionary friends that just pour into us their wisdom, experience and love. We ordered Chinese takeout for dinner and just continued the conversation into the night. Thanks for having us over Jonathan, Robynn and Jadynn! Can't wait for Baby to get here too!

335. Even though our original plans for Monday fell through I'm glad it was restful - sleeping in late, taking naps after lunch and watching movies together. I love time with my husband!

Week 26 Blessings

2011-05-23T12:11:00.000-04:00

315. Although this week has been shaping up to be pretty tiring, it's still a blessing to be busy with good things and good people at our side. Many Youth Group evenings this week included!

316. So awesome to see the Bachman's again, including Robynn this time! A short visit on the playground while keeping an eye on Susi and Will, but looking forward to more!

317. It was neat to catch a glimpse of the Awana awards. Proud of those kids and the parents for going out there faithfully every week and learning God's word together. Plus all those kids are just so cute!

318. Thursday was a little crazy as we went to bed really early and set our alarms to get up and meet the youth group for a midnight showing of the new Pirates movie. Though the film wasn't spectacular, I enjoyed seeing all our friends, even if it left me a little sleep deprived. :)

319. Friday was a crazy long day, though it included a really difficult trial for me, blessings still came from it. Please pray with me that God is using the future outcome of this incident for His glory.

320. Though still pretty tired from the night before I headed out with Ray, David and Alyssa for a fun round of mini-golf. I'm really glad I went and that they invited us to go, just sorry if I wasn't the best company!

321. I was so blessed with a weekend really full of prayer! Prayer with my husband and prayer for our church at the prayer walk on Saturday. This was really what I needed this weekend, and I just ask that God will open my eyes to his responses so I don't miss them and so He will receive more glory!

322. Ray's softball season is over. Sorry guys, I know you have fun playing, but this is a blessing to me!

323. A wonderful service with wonderful worship as usual, but it stood out for me this weekend and I'm thankful for that.

324. And an enjoyable get together with the old small group, hopefully we will be able to forge a stronger fellowship by re-joining forces! Lord show us the way, please, cus we obviously stink at trying to do it on our own!

Week 25 - Birthday Blessings!

2011-05-16T19:19:00.000-04:00

Week 25 also happens to be the week that I turned 25! Well fancy that!

300. God really blessed youth group on Tuesday this week, at least I felt it. With the great worship crew and Jared's message I felt God telling me that I'd been really missing out on something and settling for sin, especially at work. I was reminded that He is for us but we have to be for Him too! And I don't think I have been for Him while at work lately. So I asked God to not let me be complacent anymore and that leads to the next blessing...

301. So the next day I finally allowed God to do some work. I hadn't been obedient to this simple and yet for some reason so scary idea that He'd given me a long time ago, but he changed that on Wednesday. We held our first informal prayer group at work. There were just four of us from my department, but we were able to just pray for 10 minutes before lunch for our coworkers and the environment we work in. We all just really needed the reminder that God is bigger than any of the problems this place has. I was so relieved to find that they all were eager to participate and hopefully will be making it a weekly occurrence. It's always encouraging to know that you're not in it alone!

302. So then comes the Birthday! I was very blessed with phonecalls, texts, many facebook wishes, and even some actual cards in the mail! They are all so appreciated!

303. I enjoyed my free delicious FireHouse Sub for lunch that day, getting to go with Lou and Lenny from work. (For those who don't know there are many opportunities for free yummy treats on your birthday at various establishments, of which I try to take full advantage!)

304. I also really enjoyed getting off work a few hours early (I had worked late several nights over the last few weeks so that's how that works) and going to visit with DJ! She and the kids had a special surprise for me even though I had not forewarned them of it being my birthday (the wonders of facebook). I love my froggy balloon and very personalized gifts complete with drawings and a very heartfelt note. I also enjoyed singing Part of Your World (quietly) along to DJ's beautiful Ariel voice! Don't ask why, it just happened, that's the way we roll.

305. Then, Ray and I were off to one of our favorite restaurants, Longhorn. I enjoyed my Salmon Caesar salad and free Fried Cheesecake and ice cream dessert (courtesy of another birthday freebie coupon.) He made me laugh a lot, but also made me nervous and embarrassed by asking the waiters to do the showy singing bit they do. Thankfully his brother Ryan was serving us and knew to have them tone it down a bit for me!

306. Friday night Ray had a makeup softball game, they unfortunately lost, but I had lovely conversations in the bleachers with the wives and girlfriends of the players.

307. We were invited to Adam's house for a movie night after that! I thoroughly enjoyed their choice of movie: Tangled!!! I had not seen it yet (I know, I know, I call myself a Disney fan?) and was so excited to finally enjoy this new-ish animated film in a very classic Disney fairytale style! Plus I really enjoyed seeing the many friends there.

308. Saturday was a busy day that started out with the car wash to raise money for camp with the youth group. Washing cars with lots of friends is much more fun than by yourself! I like being with the youth group, they bring out my long lost silly side and I like that. :)

309. We were blessed with pizza for lunch and then off to help Daniela in the big move! I know this sounds weird but I really love helping friends with things like this. It's one of those rare situations where people are dependent on others and it's just fun and special and I'm so happy to do it! Plus the Riley's are much closer to everyone now!

310. Then we headed down to my parents to enjoy a very special birthday meal that my Mom prepared for us to all share together. Shish Kebabs, Rice Pilaf, Broccoli Casserole, Corn and her famous Carrot Cake. All so delicious! I love my Mom's cooking and baking, it's the best! :) It was also a time to spend with my brother before he moves out to California and I'm really glad we got to! All-in-all a very nice Saturday indeed.

311. Sunday was also full of blessings! (Makes it so much harder to go back to work on Monday!) We got to see Jonathan and Jadynn Bachman! We are so excited they are here for a visit. We can't wait to see Robynn too, we're hoping she's feeling better and that everything will go smoothly for baby's delivery (any day now!)

312. Daniela's got a lot of shout outs in this post, but that's because she's an awesome blessing in my life! She wanted to thank us for helping with the move and invited us to lunch after church and we gladly went with her and Will and Susana to Chili's. :) Mike you've been missing out! But it's great that we can totally spend time with them like part of the family and we just love those kids!

313. After running some errands, a much needed afternoon nap, soooo nice!!!!

314. Finally off to Olive Garden with the Willett's for Mimi's 98th birthday dinner!! Yes I said 98! We all had a great time and I was blessed with more birthday wishes as well at this dinner.

So much to celebrate when you have so much wonderful family and friends! Thank you Lord!!

Week 24 Blessings

2011-05-09T12:53:00.000-04:00

294. It was a nice surprise break when I found out we were watching "Prince of Egypt" at youth group last week. I love youth group, but last week work was making me feel like bailing. But I didn't and I got to be with friends while enjoying a movie I really like!

295. Another movie/friend blessing was getting to go see Thor with Ray, Dan and Kevin. I really enjoyed it (I was a little skeptical about the trailer) and it was a nice way to unwind after being at work so late!!

296. Even though work's been a huge stress lately I've been getting to do new things like directing a photo shoot for our product packaging. Believe me though, it's our very talented photographers who are the one's who know what they're doing! And I appreciate what they do to help me do my job!

297. Yay! Yay! Yay! Ray and I got all the stuff out of our second bedroom and we managed to get all the stuff for the church yard sale out of the house and out to church! Come out this Saturday (May 14th) and find some neat stuff! We got rid of a lot of small book shelves and those tall sets of plastic drawer organizers. And a cool art table and lots of different things.

298. Yay! Yay! Yay! I got my hair done finally! It's been a year since I got it cut, and I haven't had highlights since before the wedding. My godmother Cindy did a great job, very natural!

299. We stopped by Ray's parents' to give his Mom her mother's day card and ended up going on a quick spin on their new boat. Sammy (their beagle) came with us and it was a lot of fun. I didn't know Ray could drive boats! Then we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at home. Just when the weekend starts to get relaxing it's time to go back to work :(

Week 23 Blessings

2011-05-02T13:03:00.000-04:00

285. Delicious dinner at Yoder's with Ray's grandparents on Monday, mmmmm banana cream pie for dessert!!!!

286. Awesome supportive friends, brothers and sisters really, like Mike and DJ. I just can't describe how great it is that they are in our life.

287. The Lord is patient with me, even though I can be really thick sometimes. He keeps reminding me that I just need to take the first step and that He is there with me while I do it. But I keep having trouble. Please pray for me to trust and move to action!

288. Even though it's a really difficult week at work, and it's going to be for the next couple of weeks, I am thankful for my job and the people I work with.

289. It was so great to see my Mom, Cindy, Ashleigh and Ali at Cindy's show in Osprey. I loved seeing her new orchid painting, it's gorgeous!

290. Ray and I had a good time cleaning house and then tearing it apart this weekend! De-clutter De-clutter De-clutter! Spring cleaning...we will conquer you!

291. We also went swimming to cool off after that hard work on Saturday. It was nice, no one else was at the pool so we got to play and have fun without disturbing anybody. :)

292. Philippians Chapter 2, yeah!

293. Small group babysitting was fun this week, glad we got to share that time with friends, plus the kids are all just so cute! Oh and we are very proud of our friend Phil who is graduating this week, you're going to be a great teacher!

Week 22

2011-04-26T13:05:00.000-04:00

276. Wonderful pastors at our church who love others because they love Jesus!

277. What can I say, youth group is a blessing every week! Maybe I'm cheating by my repetition, but I really mean it. Another convicting/eye opening message leading up to Easter!

278. Working on info cards for Easter events at church has been fun, glad to do it and I hope they encourage people to come back after Easter as well!

279. Finally ordered Sam's business card, excited to see how it turns out!

280. Being encouraged to examine whether I'm motivated to serve/love others because I want to or out of guilt. I do believe Christ has made me new, transformed my selfish heart to see beyond myself, but the sin still gets in sometimes. This blog post made me think about this: http://donmilleris.com/2011/04/20/moving-from-ought-to-to-want-to/

281. An amazing weekend of celebrating Christ's sacrifice and resurrection! --- Friday evening we attended a Passover Seder and celebrated communion at Grace. I loved learning the symbolism in the dinner and how the events God orchestrated for Israel in the Old Testament so clearly point to Christ!

282. Saturday was a lot of fun, we had tons of kids/families out from our community to hunt Easter eggs, play on the many many bounce houses we had up, chase after marshmallows that were dropped from a helicopter, receive awesome prizes and face-painting! Can you tell what I helped with? ;) Not my best work I must say, but it was fun and we were definitely busy the whole time!

283. Then I really enjoyed running some errands with Ray on Saturday afternoon, even if the goal of them was frustrating, I like being with him so much it doesn't matter! Plus we got to visit with Dan on our errands, and then invited him over to hang out after he was done with work. Which was also fun!

284. Sunday was filled with blessings spent with friends! We enjoyed our time with Seth, Kristi, Josh, Andrew, Phil, Jenna, Sergio and Rhoda very much! Delicious foods, good conversation/games, and an afternoon of swimming leaves you with a satisfying feeling, and a bit tired!

Week 21 Blessings

2011-04-18T12:49:00.000-04:00

266. Discovering fellow believers in dark places!

267. 1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect"
Yes this verse is a blessing in my life, this week reminded me of that very much.

268. An awesome turn out at Youth Group this week, and a nice full small group of Middle School Girls. You rock girls!

269. Cooking with delicious basil from my garden. Yay it's the season for fresh Italian cooking!

270. Ray and I had a great time with Matt, Jenica and Dan. We went to play some cornhole at Ray's parents' house, played with the dog, and Cyndi came home and made us some yummy food. We had a very nice Saturday evening, and I'm glad I have in-laws that are so cool to let us drop by whenever we want.

271. I was really blessed by Jared's sermon this weekend. The way he illustrated Jesus' kingship to us was so new and revealing to my life. Just another amazing facet of our Savior that I am thankful to be in awe of - the fact that He came to lead us in the battle we couldn't win on our own and that he's there to lead me in it every day if I'll just follow Him.

272. I'm thankful that we had a lot of guests to welcome this week at church!

273. We had a really fun lunch after church with Jake and his friend Hillary, and I think Ray really enjoyed that she laughs so much!

274. A lot of special time with Ray this weekend too, even though we both had a lot of work on Saturday, we still had some great quality time (my love language!)

275. I tried a new baking recipe this weekend, an easy one though from Pillsbury, not completely from scratch. I'll get to try them this evening at the thing I made them for, so I'll let you know how they taste, but I'm pretty sure you can't go wrong with brownie mix, peanut butter, and chocolate fudge frosting: http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/peanut-butter-brownie-cookies/78d2e747-151c-48d1-838b-fdde7d1e3e37/

Week 20 Blessings

2011-04-11T12:08:00.000-04:00

254. Being able to reach out to a co-worker with a simple offer to pray about anything for them when they seem to be a bit down. And I'm so excited for the door that God might be opening there!

255. My friend Edward in Ghana was in a car accident this week, but God has kept him safe and alive to continue his work with orphans and pregnant women!

256. I'm glad that Ray has such a wonderful men's group at church, and that he can lean on them when he's had a difficult day. I'm also proud of him for teaching the group this week, even if I couldn't hear what he taught, I know he did a great job.

257. A fruitful meeting of prayer and discussion with our friends in ministry in Sarasota this week. They have a heart for young adults in our city, and I'm glad I get to share that with them. We're praying for God to give us a clear direction of how to serve Him in this area.

258. It was fun watching the Grace softball team on Friday night, even if we didn't win. They played a great game!

259. Also enjoyed going to see Soul Surfer this weekend, a really inspiring story. Knew it would have me crying when I started tearing up just seeing the commercial for it!

260. Jared gave an awesome message on Sunday, I'm glad the Spirit led him in what to say and demonstrate. We are so lucky to have him on our church staff!

261. A yummy free lunch on Sunday while talking about our welcoming duties!

262. I really had a lot of fun at Wallyball with the youth group Sunday afternoon. Playing with the middle school kids and the girls is much more my speed, allows me to just have fun and not care that I'm not coordinated at all!

263. We had some great praise reports at small group this week, always happy to hear them!

264. All that God's revealed to me this week. Especially about the power of prayer and praying with others. I need to be taking more advantage of that awesome gift!

265. Also a good friend helped me to remember I can take things one step at a time when I'm feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of something new.

Week 19 Blessings

2011-04-04T21:03:00.000-04:00

244. Dinner with Ray and his Grandpa on Monday night at Rico's. Yum yum. We also got to have a spiritual conversation, which we're praying will be fruitful.

245. Great sharing time in Youth Group small groups this week. So glad to see openness and caring for each other among the girls.

246. Praying for Passion Ft. Worth put me in a really worshipful mindset this weekend.

247. I'm learning how to knit! Not very good at this yet, but I love learning new things/new crafts and that's a blessing. Hopefully I'll be able to bless others with things that I'll make. We'll see! I've only just gotten the hang of casting on, knitting, purling, and casting off. But where I really have trouble is when I make a mistake I don't know how to fix it.

248. Ray seemed to come home refreshed from a nice long weekend in Tennessee. He spent a guys weekend with his boss, hiking, four-wheeling, and grilling. Really glad he got this little break!

249. Having the weekend to myself afforded me the opportunity to spend some family time with the Rileys, and also with my family. Some very enjoyable meals, conversations and games were had!

250. Also created "the margin" (as I've just read about in DJ's blog) to do some much needed gardening at home. We share a small area with our neighbors and we both tend to let it go until it's covered in weeds and looks like this:

But with margin, I hopefully blessed our neighbors, and now it looks like this:

I'm kind of proud of myself for going and getting the mulch/soil, new plants and everything, pulling the weeds, re-mulching, and planting some new herbs/veggies all by myself! I usually tend to rely on Ray for things like this, hence the excitement over a tiny little area. Can't wait to use our new basil, sage, mint, banana peppers, and grape tomatoes!

251. A productive weekend overall, not only the garden but running some errands including much needed grocery shopping, catching up on dishes and laundry, and other things after last weeks busy missions conference.

252. Really enjoyed working with the 2's and 3's at church this week. We don't really have any babies right now in the nursery, so I got to re-connect with the little ones who were in there not so long ago!

253. Don't know why I didn't post this last week, but little Elliot King was born to our friends Neil and Dana. We are so happy for them and extremely blessed just by the pictures on facebook of this adorable mini-Neil! We can't wait to meet him in person when he's up to having visitors. :)

Week 18 Blessings

2011-03-28T13:27:00.000-04:00

229. Hearing so many more wonderful stories from the Kapatuniaks at youth group on Tuesday night. I hope the kids were paying attention because Bill shared a lot of wisdom!

230. Opportunities that God gives me to love others by looking to their interests and not only my own, even when it's difficult or I can't relate. He's teaching me!

231. Sharing morning rides to work with my husband this week, even if only a 5 minute ride, it's an extra 5 minutes I wouldn't get to spend with him otherwise.

232. Being able to get supplies that I needed for the Missions game day while on my lunch break. I love efficient successful errand trips, so much better than frustrating ones where you can't find anything you need! Plus buying craft materials is always fun!!

233. I was blessed to be able to get some new clothes this week while helping out Japan! Yay for 100% proceeds!

234. The "And if Our God is For Us" tour!!! Chris Tomlin, Louie Giglio and crew bringing me back to the heart of worship as usual.

235. Re-realizing the depth of Christ's sacrifice for us and the depth of my need for that payment.

236. Realizing that the righteousness I long for (unfortunately all-too-often self-righteousness) has already been counted to me.

237. The Missions Banquet on Friday night was filled with great conversation, delicious food, beautiful songs, and a convicting message. Oh and very lovely, unexpected, compliments from my lovely friends Kristi and Daniela!

238. The family game day on Saturday was great! I'm so glad that people really enjoyed the games and crafts. And I hope that parents will share a new burden with their children to pray for other people groups around the world.

239. Getting to hear from the Millers in Sunday school was another eye-opening presentation about missions, and the importance of bringing Jesus to people who have never ever even heard his name.

240. Having gotten to know Mike and Jenny Sullivan at the banquet, it was a pleasure to hear him speak again for us during the Sunday service. Ray and I hope to keep in touch about our possible future in missions!

241. A huge blessing of getting to know the Millers a little bit better over lunch. They are wonderfully encouraging and full of great advice when it comes to seeking the Lords will. We hope to keep in touch with them as well!

242. The Missions Conference over-all. It's become one of my favorite times in the year, and my favorite part about it all is getting to build real face-to-face relationships with our missionaries. Knowing them personally is just such a blessing and catalyst to pray for them more.

243. A quiet Sunday afternoon to re-cooperate from the busy-ness of the week. Nice long nap on the couch and time with my husband in the evening. :)

Week 17 Blessings

2011-03-21T13:27:00.000-04:00

217. Even though my throat is hurting right now (don't feel sick at all, weird) I've been blessed by worshiping in silent prayer while others sing their praises aloud. Sometimes that allows you to really soak in the meaning of the songs we sing to God.

218. A desire to stay caught up on housework is a blessing lately, as I usually let everything go until it's so bad I have to take care of it. Gross, I know.

219. A burden and mourning for souls. Difficult yes, but a blessing as I was reminded this week that "it is better to go to a house of mourning..."

220. All the projects I have going on. If I didn't, I'd be bored anyway.

221. Maybe I counted it this a while back, not sure, but drinking water. Used to hate it, but now I'm finishing multiple bottles a day. Soda is only on the weekends now as well. Feels good!

222. Will Riley came to youth group, his worshiping with us was a blessing!

223. Making up for lost opportunities to rely on God. He and his Word are my true source of nourishment. And it's wonderful to discover that first hand.

224. Spending time with my brother this weekend, enjoying a nice nature walk and some lunch together.

225. Also when we went to purchase our lunch, the store keeper told us their credit card machines were down. I asked if they could take a check, and he said sure. Finding out at the register that I wrote the check to him personally, he was doing me a favor. Got home and Ray had found my debit card in our other car, so if the store's card machine had been working, and they don't normally accept checks we may have been completely out of luck! A silly anecdote, but I love seeing God's orchestration even in the little things.

226. Ray and I had the pleasure of picking up the Kapatuniaks (spelling?) and taking them to dinner. It was really a blessing to get to know them and talk to them about their experiences as missionaries as well as tell them about Grace.

227. Bill's sermon on Sunday morning was also quite convicting for both of us. Looking forward to seeing more of Bill and Stella through the rest of the conference.

228. Loved hearing some of the new experiences of Joel and Missy Davis as well during Sunday school, it's so neat to see the progress of their journey over the years!

Week 16 Blessings

2011-03-14T12:54:00.000-04:00

204. BROKEN-NESS

205. Passion 2011 album: Here for You!!!! Came in the mail this week, can't stop listening to it. :)

206. Been very inspired lately...

207. LOL this week at Chic-fil-a with the youth group

208. God's faithfulness. He'll never let you down when you're giving it over to him, even little things like how to spend your lunch time.

209. Ashleigh and Szymon are safe in Japan. And so are our friends the Driscolls. Thank you Lord!

210. A Thursday night off, very rare for us. Enjoyed some time just the two of us that evening.

211. Sort of a quiet weekend all around, again rare. So we took advantage and had a date night Saturday, that was followed by a stop at Ray's families' house.

212. Went on a new route (Sunrise 21) at Adopt-a-block and was blessed as usual, thank you God for the many believers we met and for the opportunities to speak with the seekers.

213. It's also a blessing that adopt-a-block is still going strong even without a home base of operation. Please pray for support and ways for the ministry to both remain in the neighborhoods they started in and to expand into its new neighborhoods.

214. Excited to already have heard "All My Fountains" from the Passion album played on the radio, I can't wait for all of these songs to start spreading like wild-fire!

215. Seems like people are happy with the banners, even if I'm never satisfied with my designs.

216. Springing forward. Even though it's a bit harder to get up in the morning for now, I am thankful that it will stay lighter out for longer in the evenings again. Makes me feel like I'm getting more out the day!

Week 15 Blessings

2011-03-07T12:47:00.000-05:00

184. Going to dinner with Ray and his grandparents on Monday night, love having leftovers too!

185. God revealing what I missed out on while participating in the half-a-cup of rice challenge.

186. Finishing the Missions Conference banners. Hope people will be able to see them better this year.

187. Precious revelation amidst the daily bustle about who it is I really work for.

188. fishbeerlemon (it's an inside joke type of blessing, also sometimes referred to as bishfear)

189. Hangin out with Daniela and the kids is always a blessing, Mike too, but he was out of town this time :( We had yummy tostatas, and played a fun train game that Ray stomped us at. He couldn't stop talking about how fun it was after that. ;) Oh and when we first got there, Susi came running out the front door straight into my arms, it was the sweetest thing ever.

199. Getting to spend a lovely Saturday with my husband. Got some things done around the house, went to see The Adjustment Bureau (we haven't seen a movie just the two of us in theaters in a really long time and it was nice!). We also worked on the plans for the game day for our Missions conference, it's going to be fun!

200. Got to do some yummy cooking - made the cheesy squash casserole again (so yummy - I don't even like squash, but I love this!) And a baked brie appetizer with toasted almonds and a strawberry drizzle, very easy to do.

201. Saw both my Aunt Dorothy & Uncle John and Aunt Marie-Lou. We were somewhat celebrating my Mom and my brother's birthdays this week, but also just sharing family time.

202. Blessed by a challenging message by Mike Riley in this Sunday's church service. Lord let me live dangerously, as it has been graced to me that I might not only believe in Jesus Christ but also suffer for his sake. And great worship from Jared, Seth and the rest of the team.

203. The chance to sit down and get some more work done on Sunday afternoon for a bit, and then relaxing with Ray, Phil & Jenna for a movie at home.

Week 14 Blessings

2011-02-28T13:14:00.000-05:00

170. An awesome informational session this week, yes I'm going to be vague on this one. Sorry, maybe you'll find out later. :)

171. AGAIN youth group is inspiring!!! SO happy that Ryan gave his testimony, so real and perfect for the other kids to hear. He kicked our butts!

172. And an awesome challenge from Mr. E. Mike. Can't wait for the half-a-cup of rice fast.

173. Really nice talk at lunch with Lenny, glad that God put her in my life! Plus we had Chic-fil-a, yummy!

174. A busy week at work goes by fast!

175. An unusually pleasant check-out experience at Walmart this week.

176. Getting to watch the Riley's kids for two nights!! We <3 Will & Susana!

177. The ability to go to the doctor when I need to, because of the country we live in and my work being flexible with medical time.

178. Getting to take Will & Susi to Chuck E. Cheese on Friday night, this was a lot of fun. :)

179. Susi had a dry pull-up all night Friday, and used the potty on Saturday! Go Susi!

180. A really awesome blessing that God surprised us with on Saturday. We took the kids to Manatee Lake State Park, down the road from their neighborhood for the morning until Mike and DJ got home around lunchtime. We've never been to this park, but we were going to pay the $5 dollar to park our car and explore. When we pull up they tell us there is no charge and it's their special 1 day a year event. There was live music, crafts for the kids, lots of free goodies and educational things like preventing forest fires, and an awesome free fishing clinic for the kids. They took a little safety/informational class and got free fishing poles and tackle boxes! So awesome! The people who sponsored that were really cool, they take kids with terminal illnesses on all expense paid fishing and hunting trips. (http://www.huntofalifetime.org/)

181. Resting and catching up on some housework this weekend, at least a little bit.

182. Getting to see the little ones sing in big church on Sunday, very cute.

183. Proud of my husband's ability to teach, I admire him so much.

Week 13 Blessings

2011-02-21T13:04:00.000-05:00

157. Challenging Youth Group messages! Yes the adults do get a lot out of it!

158. Philippians Chapter 1, each and every word means so much!

159. My valentine's flowers are blooming beautifully after 3 days, they look lovely!

160. Beautiful beautiful weather! (Thursday, Feb 17) I made myself take my lunch outdoors today, instead of staying at my desk like I usually do, I just had to get out there!

161. My husband gives me so much grace, that I don't deserve. He's always done so and I believe it was part of the way God prepared my heart to accept Jesus' grace. If anyone loves His wife like Christ loves the Church it's my husband. It's so beautiful, it makes me cry as I'm writing this.

162. Time to spend with Ray, Rhoda & Sergio, David & Alyssa, relaxing by going to a movie together.

163. God's perfect assignments as usual at Adopt-a-Block. Going on a new route is a blessing in itself, getting to know the other volunteers, but we also were able to really witness to a seeking soul. Lord Jesus, please help Rodney to finally understand what it means to really follow you with his life and to show his daughter what that looks like as well.

164. Discounted prices at the Borders store closing in Sarasota.

165. Spending time with Ryan on Saturday just kind of relaxing and playing with the dog. Sammy went for a ride on a Kayak with Ray in the creek. It was funny and I wanted to get a picture, but alas my camera was left at home.

166. A busy but blessed Sunday as usual. Teaching the 4 & 5 year old's, for all the playing and roughhousing they can also be really sweet sometimes. When Will was a little bit sad and hanging out under the table and I was trying to ask what was wrong, one by one all the other kids came over to kneel down and ask him too. When we ultimately couldn't figure out what was specifically bothering him, the kids and I prayed for him to not be sad anymore. They were so concerned for him! So sweet.

167. Lunch with Chris and Angela after church, talking about fun ideas for the family game day for the Missions Conference this year. I am excited about the ideas and working on a project like this together with my husband!

168. Watching Josh and Andrew during the Mission Board meeting that afternoon was fun, we spent most of the time on the playground in the beautiful weather God's been providing this week.

169. Married couples time was a unexpected but welcome part of our Sunday as well. Thanks for welcoming us so openly guys!

Valentine's Day Blessings!

2011-02-14T19:42:00.000-05:00

156. A big beautiful bouquet sent to my work today from my hubby! I wasn't expecting it at all since we both think Valentine's day is kind of silly. But this made me smile all day! He loves me so much <3 It also came with a box of yummy chocolates!

Week 12 ... Blessings

2011-02-14T13:03:00.001-05:00

141. This one should have been on last week's post, but I was very blessed to receive some clothes from Kristi and it is always nice to have something new and different to wear. You can't beat the price of free!

142. It's been so nice to receive so many comments and encouragements from friends reading these posts, didn't realize people would actually read them. ;) If anybody's interested in joining me to count their own blessings, I didn't come up with this idea myself, you can check out the challenge here.

143. The continuing awesome turn-out at Youth Group! And hopefully the fact that their enjoying doing small groups again. Can't count out the great live worship with Sam, DJ, and Ben. Hopefully their excitement will spur on the musical ones in the group to join in leading!

144. The opportunity through these small groups to develop my leadership/discipleship abilities. I'm not feeling very successful so far, but I think the girls like the time to get together and talk. We had such a great time at Disciple Now, so it's great to continue that kind of relationship. Lord do your work in us!

145. Finally getting in touch with RightNow.org (been playing phone tag with them since Passion). Hopefully now that I have a profile set up with them they may be able to help present missions opportunities for us.

146. Being able to give my friend Lenny a ride several days this week when she had a flat tire. Her house is right on my way to work, so glad she felt comfortable to ask me.

147. Support from great friends at Awake and small group. Thanks for the prayer and helpful conversations this week guys.

148. A wonderful supportive husband who cleaned the house for me, while I got to go away for a fun weekend with my Mom and Aunt Janie in Winter Park.

149. Spending that time with Mom was special, we had a lot of good talks and I'm glad she got the chance to get away and see her sister.

150. Going on a cool boat tour of the lakes in Winter Park. It was a little chilly but we saw some neat things in God's creation! And kind of weird, Mr. Roger's old house:

151. My aunt treating us to a delicious dinner at Brio, can't wait to have one of these in Sarasota.

152. Relaxing at her new house after to watch a chick flick: The Notebook

153. Staying the night in her guest room, it was like a mini vacation and so relaxing!

154. Starting a new material to discuss in small group, David Platt's Radical, that I've been reading. So excited to have others to discuss it with and to grow in effective change with.

155. Ooh, also excited about planning some small group "field trips" together. :)

Week 11....Blessings

2011-02-07T13:09:00.000-05:00

127. God's wonder and revealed truth to me on a daily basis. Whether it be through his word, a friend, a movie (yes even a secular one), music, a sermon, the youth, or so many other avenues.

128. My boss being back from China.

129. Uncharted territories, even when they're difficult.

130. My husband's willingness to put me first. Thanks for being there when I had a bad day this week.

131. The option to join Ray for dinner at his Grandparents on Monday. So nice to not have to cook when you've had a long day.

132. God's provision, as usual. Somehow when our t.v. breaks we are blessed with an abundance of t.v.'s from others who were getting rid of theirs. And when I wasn't being as grateful as I should have been for this blessing, God turns around and shows me EXACTLY what the bigger picture was behind that gift, affecting so many more people than just me. He just orchestrated every event around that one thing, and I can't wait to see the rest of the story unfold!

133. New blessings to discover at Adopt-a-Block every week.

134. My pear bear being generous and shopping with me for a few items from Bealls with my art on them. So excited to have some real beach towels, instead of bringing bath towels. And they mean something to me! Plus we now have a "Hank" Tervis Tumbler. ^_^

135. Sunday Worship Service!!! Just an awesome display of God's work through Jesus on the cross and people declaring they were once dead and are now fully alive in Him because of it. Baptisms, communion, and such creative, meaningful worship to God our creator!

136. The fact that I was blessed to not be needed in the nursery as I was regularly scheduled to be, and actually be able to attend this service. :)

137. A lovely free lunch at church for our Christmas lights ministry. Thank you to everyone who works so hard throughout the year for this community blessing and to those who prepared the meal yesterday. :)

138. Getting the opportunity to visit with lots of good friends at different Super Bowl parties, and introducing friends from work to friends from church to each other.

139. The Steelers losing.

140. Getting to try a new recipe, it was simple and yummy. Paula Deans Savannah Cheesecake Cookies:

(I put strawberry slices on top of mine though, not blueberries)

Week 10 ... Blessings

2011-01-31T12:27:00.000-05:00

115. Awesome night at Youth Group this week. Worship and small groups were really encouraging!! And so many people made it out despite the deterring weather!

116. Great talks with Daniela.

117. A husband who is not afraid to be himself, around anyone. Wish I had more of that in me.

118. Sounds silly, but I have reason to list it: The Little Mermaid

119. Speaking of Disney related things- Have you heard of Give Kids the World? It's been making me tear up everytime I think about it. A podcast I listen to is trying to raise a million dollars for this great charity, $10 at a time. You give 10, and get ten other people to give 10. Check it out: http://powerof10.us/

120. The chance to see a few of my old teachers at Ringling this week. Congratulations Mr. Dunnick on the Distinguished Educators Award. ;) And to Phyllis Schaen, the Honorary Alumna Award. Seeing Mr. Brandes and Adam Riches was great too! And look, an actual image on this blog for once...

(technically I didn't put this on Facebook Dunnick - I put it on a blog, that happens to feed to my facebook notes)

121. The Jared's and all they do for Awake, and ushering in a new era of disciples taking on more personal ownership of it

122. Girls Night Out - so thankful to be a part of this group of girls

123. God answered my prayer on Saturday morning to not allow me to rely on those I'm comfortable around at Adopt-a-block by putting me in a new group. And a new appreciation for everything I have in family and health. Lord please be with those in such darkness at the nursing home.

124. A day full of so much fun on Saturday - Spending the afternoon and evening with my husband and David, Alyssa, Sergio and Rhoda. The Scottish/Celtic festival, the beach, Rico's, and mini golf all in one day! Haven't done that much fun stuff in one day for a long time.

125. Teaching the 4 & 5 year olds about sharing. Hope they're actually doing it this week. :)

126. Sunday afternoon to catch up on laundry, grocery shopping and then relaxing. Delicious dinner with Ray and a movie at home.

Week 9

2011-01-24T13:05:00.000-05:00

101. This is belated, but thank you Lord for keeping Ray safe a few weeks back when his car spun around over the median (he and the vehicle are fine, and there were no other cars around).

102. Small group - a fresh start in the new year and God already moving in it (that happens when you actually seek him which I feel like we hadn't been doing the way we ought to)

103. A long friendship that Ray and I have developed with Jared Decker.

104. My husband working so very hard at his job and the difficulties that comes with.

105. God healing my cold very quickly this last week, and free anti-biotic prescriptions from Publix.

106. Ray's phone contract being ready to upgrade when his phone completely broke last week.

107. A fresh start in Youth Group as well - really excited to see what God's going to do here. Lord break us out of our complacent routine and let us seek you fully and first in every effort.

108. Hearing the story about a waitress at Taco Mac meeting Jesus for the first time because of a door holder from Passion 2011.

109. Having 2 reliable vehicles that are more than we need.

110. A prompted time of rest this weekend (forced myself because of having been sick), first Saturday in a long time that I didn't go anywhere all day long. Stayed at home.

111. Getting to see my parents who came to see us that Saturday and bring delicious home made soup.

112. The computer for my parents finally being finished and in their hands.

113. Meeting with Rhoda on Wednesday for coffee, loved our conversation. Love her confident faith that shines through her words.

114. Charlie's sermon and long and lovely conversation after church and through lunch with him, Sergio and Rhoda. And the Panera lunch was delicious.

Week 8

2011-01-17T13:11:00.000-05:00

85. A lovely double date with Adam and Angelica - love their energy and creativity

86. An amazing dinner with the Dennis and Sandy Cochrane. Their stories and passion were really inspiring. Praise God for the work of Bible translation on every corner of the earth. Praying for the last 2000 languages to be translated/begun by 2025.

87. The fact that I have clean water to drink. From a new bottle everyday no less. Love Zephyrills, but maybe I should look into using something re-usable and buying larger capacities to refill with.

88. The option to CHANGE MY MIND and it's direction towards CHRIST.

89. Rayisms - they make me LOL so much (most of the time). Yes this is my real life people and I love it.

90. Awake! Can't wait to gather with people again and keep the Passion going. Lord please don't let me slip back into apathy.

91. Miss Mary and her lovely song. I also liked her cute kitties.

92. Charlie Garrett's teaching, and the gifts that God's given him to share with others.

93. A wonderful time with David & Alyssa, experiencing authentic Columbian food for dinner and a ton of fun (as usual) playing games like Things and Catchphrase.

94. Getting to see Ben & Melissa and getting to know Chris & Noelle, Doug & Katie as well at game night.

95. Potluck. Nough said.

96. Seth's teaching on 1 Timothy and a prompting to examine whether I am being seen as Christ in the workplace or not.

97. Sergio and Rhoda! So so happy to have met them and that God brought them to Grace Baptist this weekend. Can't wait to get to know them better.

98. Dana's baby shower was chock full of cuteness! Baby Elliot is greatly loved and not even here yet. :) Looking forward to his arrival!

99. Babysitting with small group, though hectic, was a great way to still get together this week. Don't know what we would have done if Phil, Jenna and Jared weren't there!

100. Getting to see Dan as well, the three of us having a little down time to enjoy some food and a movie together.

Week 7

2011-01-10T13:07:00.000-05:00

63. JESUS

64. Passion

65. Angel, he lives in Ecuador and his birthday is September 11, 2003

66. Oscar, he is 2 years old at Golden Seed pre-school in South Africa

67. A wonderful surprise phone call from Edward, in Ghana. Thank you Lord for letting me hear my phone vibrate at work and bringing Edward's voice from so far to my ear.

68. The 4 and 5 year olds from Children’s Academy of SW Florida coming to sing Christmas songs for us at work this week. So stinkin' cute!

69. Ernst and Therissa Leo and God's rescue of them from their dire situation in Haiti and a bright new future for them both

70. Redemption

71. 18,400 towels and 88,000 pairs of socks

72. 24 clean water wells in India

73. 387 small business loan for Afghani people

74. 20,000 copies of the New Testament for Columbia

75. a year's food for 2,225 children like Oscar in South Africa

76. 39 new homes for Haiti

77. 442 new sponsors for children through Compassion International

78. 22 new futures for Bolivian girls rescued from sex slavery

79. 141 surgeries for children in Uganda with hydrocephalus

80. 29 rescue operations (15 women per operation on average) will be saved from sex slavery in the Philippines

81. Growing close to old friends and new friends during an intense experience with God - thanks Theresa, Jared, Jordan, Angelica, Adam, Tangie, Jonathan, Paul, Joe, Emily, Chris, Jared, Karla, Chuck, Tony, Todd, Heather, Annie, Lori and Megan

82. A renewed desire, love and respect for God's word

83. My eyes being opened further to the world-wide church and the huge differences between the church here in America and churches flourishing under persecution. I want to experience this firsthand.

84. The many blessings/resources that came through the great exchange of information at Passion

Week 6

2011-01-06T13:13:00.000-05:00

I don't know what week I'm really supposed to be on right now... this is what I had going in a draft before I left for Passion. Now that I'm back from Passion, I have ton of new blessings to log, so look for that next. :)

56. A wonderful husband who came to visit me at work and bring me lunch on one of his days off. :) It was really great to show him where I work, and the stuff I'm working on and introduce him to some of my coworkers.

57. A wonderful husband who was willing to use one of his days off this week to clean our house BIG TIME so that we could have a guest stay a few nights. He did an awesome job!

58. The fact that this guest felt comfortable enough to ask to stay with us

59. Crazy frost on the ground a few mornings this week! Not like the regular frost we'll get, but it looked like a light layer of snow in Florida. Really pretty.

60. Lou Anne (at work). She's always sharing her delicious treats with me and others in the office. We also have really good conversations.

61. This challenge. I'm really enjoying the action of "Counting My Blessings". It can become a motherly sounding cliche, but when you make it a regular tangible activity it means a lot more.

62. Learning to appreciate the strengths in others that I lack. Especially in the workplace. When my boss is gone I always seem to discover something new that I didn't appreciate before about her role. Like her ability to direct a meeting and really sell my artwork to the buyers. I discovered today that I fall flat in that department.

Week 5

2010-12-28T13:03:00.000-05:00

46. Leftover pizza. Well leftovers in general.

47. A generous, caring boss that I really get along with.

48. God's faithfulness, particularly in provision. He always finds a way to provide just what I need, right when I need it. (Need to pocket this one to remember when I feel like complaining about TTC.)

49. The Belden's - They are a very gracious and generous family. It is a pleasure getting to know Halle, Anne and Don.

50. Passion! Getting really excited about it! And this year I'm thankful that I am more excited about Do Something Now than which speakers/bands are or aren't going to be there.

51. Theresa going to Passion too, also very excited to spend time with her. ^_^

52. God teaching me patience...did I put this already in some form or another? Well He's still teaching me as I have a lot to learn!!!

53. Special time with family over the Christmas weekend.

54. Chasing sunsets on the road trip home with my Ray-bear.

55. My husband's growth in spiritual leadership, in the church and as a husband. I really need that guidance, so keep it coming hunny bunny.

Week 4

2010-12-22T12:31:00.000-05:00

Well, I was late again in posting this week. Maybe I should pick a different day than Monday... or I'll try setting a reminder message on my calendar.

36. Waking up on time this morning, apparently my alarm that I know I set, I must have unknowingly unset at some point.

37. Having dinner with Mimi, Ray, and Ryan on Thursday nights.

38. Angie's back at work! I missed her while she was on maternity leave. :)

39. The weather warming up here and there amidst all of the super freezing cold we've been having.

40. Good times spent with friends at Youth Group.

41. My own little space at work, even though it's open and in a community area. I enjoy my little reminders and inspirations that I've put up on the walls.

42. Lunchtime. And getting little things done during it.

43. Short weeks at work, hurray Christmas is almost here!

44. The internet - it's infinite abilities to keep me informed, connected, and inspired.

45. The Christmas Wish List at church this year. It blesses you as much as it blesses the families getting gifts.

Week 3

2010-12-14T12:57:00.000-05:00

I totally meant to post this yesterday, but I forgot!

22. Optometry - I would be so blind without my glasses/contacts, what kind of artist would I be then?

23. Seat heaters for winter time, yes it's only Florida but toasty buns are still nice.

24. Quiet time

25. Jonathan, Robynn, Jadynn and Baby! We miss them terribly but I am so grateful for the friendship we've built with them even in the short time they were here. They model the kind of family we would like to be.

26. Ashley, whom I can go to for prayer support when things get tough at work.

27. Conviction - revealed to me through God's word

28. Jeans days at work

29. Those moments when God just flat out humbles me.

30. Sushi at Thai Wasabi

31. Celebrating special people in our lives, like at surprise parties.

32. Unexpected compliments

33. The Christmas lights event we hold at our church - I have already seen it touch individual lives in a very personal way. And I just really love serving our community through an opportunity that God gave us, that we didn't conjure up on our own.

34. Themes/threads that I see God weaving in my life from week to week....I have a mental image of this and I like it.

35. Getting to know/build relationships with people at work (or anywhere really), and looking forward to possibilities that stem from that.

Week 2...still counting

2010-12-06T12:55:00.000-05:00

This is starting to be quite addicting, I had a hard time falling asleep the other night because I couldn't stop thinking about things I'm thankful for! Please pray that this desire to focus on my blessings will continue. :)

11. Free Podcasts! Especially when you don't have a budget to purchase music, etc. But these are really great to listen to while at work. Some make me laugh, some are very educational, and some just inspire me and strengthen faith throughout the day!

12. Blogs! Along the same vain as podcasts, but in literary and pictorial format for your viewing pleasure. I'm also thankful for Google Reader which allows me to keep the subscriptions organized and easy to follow.

13. Will and LeeAnn Groben - for their friendship, their mentoring, their generosity, their encouragement, and their devotion to God's plan for their lives.

14. My Dad, for the love he showed me by adopting me as his own and being a devoted provider for his family all these years.

15. Mike, Daniela, Will and Susana Riley, for their energy and spirit, I love how much fun this whole family is and am so thankful God brought them to us for this season of time in their lives.

16. This is one I'm learning to be thankful for - the people God puts in my life to teach me patience and to rely on Him for how to interact/love these people.

17. Ray going grocery shopping with me sometimes. It makes me just so happy to be spending time with him, even if it's doing something silly like that, it's together!

18. The many delicious ingredients God gave us to create delightful concoctions like the quiche we had this week!

19. Tim and Wendy's podcast about foster parenting, I'm learning so much and God is putting an ever-growing desire in my heart to care for orphans <3

20. Dave Ramsey and his inspiration that's made us gazelle intense about paying off debt (so we will be able to do things like #19 :)

21. My church family, and every part they play in the body!

Counting My Blessings

2010-11-29T12:38:00.000-05:00

I'm taking the 1000 Gifts Challenge. Not sure exactly what schedule I want to take on... I think I'll keep a running draft throughout the week and wherever I end up I'll post. So I guess these first ones will be the pretty obvious ones...though I don't want to make the list prioritized in any way, but random and truthfully inspired. So the numbering will just be to keep track I guess.

I am thankful for:
1. My pear bear (aka my husband and his many wonderful attributes will soon come to follow I'm sure)
2. My job
3. The skies that God paints for me every day
4. The cute cows that I get to look at on my way to work every morning
5. Hugs and kisses from my pear bear every morning before work
6. My mom's back surgery going well and her being relieved of the terrible pain she was in
7. Free food
8. The seasons of waiting/anticipation that God puts into my life
9. Ray's dad surprising us as we gathered with the church on Sunday
10. The t.v. breaking this weekend

So maybe some of these seem mushy, obvious or weird to you, but that's o.k. I think I'm only sharing them with you for accountability and hopefully to inspire you to count your blessings too!

Missions 2010

2010-03-21T14:19:00.000-04:00

Coming off of a wonderful annual missions conference at church, Ray and I are excited for the summer as he will, Lord willing, be going on his first short-term mission trip. The trip will be focused on renovating a building that will become the first/only Bible institute in Serbia. We would love for you to keep the preparations for this trip in your prayers. This is a little bookmark with the highlights:

A part of going where God calls you to go is relying on Him for all your needs. A big need for Ray to be able to go on this trip will be financial support, in addition to a lot of prayer, and we are confident that the Lord will provide as He always has done for us. We ask you to consider being a part of this work that is for the sake of the Gospel. Perhaps you would not be physically able to go to another part of the world like this, but have been blessed financially and can send someone like Ray who is physically able, and willing to go. We ask that you would pray over this trip and the Serbian people, and ask God whether He might like you to participate in some way.

If you find that God has put it on your heart to give a donation toward this trip, you can get in touch with Ray by e-mail: ray.willett@verizon.net or phone: 941.780.1114 or send a check made payable to Grace Baptist Church to 8000 Bee Ridge Rd., Sarasota, FL 34241. Please also make sure to put "Serbia Trip - Ray Willett" in the memo line of the check.

Passion 2010

2010-01-09T02:37:00.002-05:00

After the busy-ness of the holidays we were given grace in the refreshment that was Passion 2010. For those of you who don't know what Passion is, I'll do my best to give you a glimpse in this post.

Over 22,000 college-aged students/adults came together for 4 days in Atlanta, GA. With a tightly packed schedule of speakers, worship, community group time, and "Do Something Now," it was a tiring, but fulfilling weekend, to say the least.

Ray and I rode up with a group of our great friends from our church for the 8 hour drive, which made the time quite enjoyable in my opinion.

I felt much closer to our friends Emily, Christy Jo, Sam, Chris, Zach and Jared by the end of the trip. I am grateful for our friendships with them and for how they have encouraged me throughout my first few years as a Christian.

The thing I've come to learn in the last year or so, and which was quite solidified at Passion is that being a "Christian" is not just about behaving a certain way. Or about just the first moment of knowing what Christ did for us, although important, it is the continuation in seeking Him that defines a true follower of Christ.

The Passion conference refers to it's participants as the 268 Generation. It is God's desire for us to be a generation, that rises up to take it's place with selfless faith. 268 comes from the passage Isaiah 26:8 --

"Yes Lord, walking in the way of your truth, we wait eagerly for you, for your name and renown are the desire of our souls."

I have been awakened to anguish for those who do not know this desire. I have been awakened to a new desire to say "Yes Lord" everyday and for those who look upon Raymond and I to not see us, but to see Christ.

It's funny at how excited we were to be called "crazy" today, we high-fived! Given it was by Ray's brother who probably would call Ray that anyway, it was still a response to our awakened behavior and words.

A little more about the conference:

This was just one of the arenas filled with students. I don't know if you can imagine what it is like when 22,000 people are worshiping God as loud as they can at the same time, but it is humbling and all of the glory was to Him. Unlike what you might see in a regular concert, hands were lifted high in praise sung to the heavens, not to the bands. There were at least 9 different sessions of awe-filled worship like this.

And not to give glory to the speakers themselves, but just to give you an understanding of the passionate preaching, we heard from: Louie Giglio, Beth Moore, Francis Chan, Andy Stanley and John Piper.

And to help process what we were drinking in so quickly, we had special time with one community family group of 8 to 10 peers. I believe this was one of the most beneficial portions of our time, as we discussed and prayed about God's will and truth being revealed to us this weekend. I have made new friendships that I plan to keep.

I know I keep talking about God's glory, but how can one not?! SO MUCH GLORY shining through Christ's hands and feet this weekend by the means of "Do Something Now." At Passion they had a large, interactive showroom in which we could learn about the struggles of our fellow man around the world. One could walk through the life of a child affected by HIV/AIDS in Mozambique and pack a care kit for their Caregivers. We saw the faces of many children in Afghanistan with the need of surgery for cleft palates. You could experience the 1/8 of a mile walk carrying two 40 pound jugs of water, when there are people in Guatemala who walk 7 whole miles carrying this much, just to get filthy water. We read about millions of women and children who are sold into sex-trafficking/slavery. There is more slavery today than at any other point in history to date, and they are very often sold for as little as $30.

But there is much to rejoice over, because God is greater and He shattered the goals that were set out to be met, well beyond expectation! Here is where I will take a page from Louie's blog to relay the amazing gifts that are going out to so many. If you want to help you can even just give $5 through your phone bill by texting "OMC" to 20222 and by supporting the causes at onemillioncan.com. Make sure to reply "Yes" to confirm.

Building an education center for the Dalit people of India through Operation Mobilization. Goal–$75,000. Given–$92,753.91.
Small business loans for women in Haiti through Hope International. Goal–200 x $200 loans. Given–$64,412.34 for 322 loans.
Bible translation for Shatika and Rom People of SE Asia with OneVerse. Goal–translate 4000 verses at a cost of $100,000. Given–3134 verses/$78.359.
Sponsor 100 seminary students in the Middle East with E3 Partners. Goal–$30,000. Given–$45,318/151 students.
Build 10 wells in Guatemala with Living Water. Goal–$50,000. Given–$113.865/22 wells built.
Provide 100 cleft palate surgeries for children in Afghanistan with Cure International. Goal–$55,000. Given–$68,160.54/111 children get surgeries.
Package and send Bibles to unreached people in Asia through Bibles Unbound. Goal–3000 Bibles packaged and $3000 to cover cost. Given/Done–3000 Bibles packaged/$9,530.56 given to send more.
Build a border outpost in Nepal to intercept sex trafficking victims through Not For Sale. Goal–$25,000. Given–$86,516.72 for 3+ border outposts.
Support a Child Survival project in Indonesia through Compassion International. Goal–100 students x $20 a month for one year = $24,000. Given–205 students x $20 a month for one year = $50,170. (The 12 month commitment represents pledges for this cause).
Package meals through our partner Feed My Starving Children. Goal–package 100,000 meals at Passion 2010 and give $17,500 to cover costs. Given/Done–108,432 meals packaged and $17,533.32 given.
Sponsor children affected by HIV/AIDS in Mozambique with World Vision. Goal–200 students x $35 monthly/package 1000 Caregiver kits. Given–174 students x $35 monthly/1000 caregiver kits assembled.
Drink coffee and fund projects in Ethiopia through our partner Gobeana Coffee. Given–$24,548.
Total given at Passion 2010 = $724,480.42.
IN ADDITION, a family at Passion 2010 matched the total as of Tuesday morning with a gift of $668.597.00.
For a Passion 2010
The original goal was 500,000!

*As well, 14,820 towels and 72,600 pairs of socks were given to assist the homeless shelters of Atlanta.*

Thanks for reading such a long post! This is what has been on my heart and what I pray will remain on it.

--Lord--
It is my prayer that those who read this would catch this desire to know and follow you. I pray for awakening in this world, for the blind to see and hear your Word.
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Colossians 1:15-20

I praise you God for what you have done in me and for me. --Amen

Cowboys Game

2009-10-20T10:47:00.000-04:00

I told you I was terrible at keeping journals...now let me try and remember what has happened since my last post. I guess I have too much life to keep up with documenting it...

I know that last month Ray went with his brother Ryan and Aunt Becky and Uncle Brian to see the Cowboys beat the Bucs in Tampa (we are big Dallas fans in this family!) I can't believe that I'm actually interested in football now, I guess if you have a team to root for (and a husband who cares so much about them) then it becomes much more exciting. I got to spend a fun day with Ray's cousins (they have 4 girls!) and my mom-in-law Cyndi. We swam in the pool, went out to lunch, and even got in a quick trip to the mall.

Well I made cookies for Ray, also sort of as a late Birthday treat, as getting tickets for the game was a Birthday treat too. I used a technique that I never tried before called flooding. It's where you pipe thicker royal icing as outlines, and then water down your icing to fill in the lines. It hardens to a nice smooth covering. It turned out o.k. for my first time, but I definitely learned which mistakes not to make next time.

I got my lustre dust out so that I could get the real silver effect with the blue and white, though you might not be able to see it too well in the pictures.

The white ones had clear crystal sugar sprinkles instead of the silver. :]

I asked Ray to bring me back some good pictures...he didn't give me much to work with here..nice face Ryan!

Recovering after the game. Notice the severe knee sunburns, it was supposed to be rainy and cloudy all day.

I guess otherwise we've been working a lot. Ray had a ton of over time in the last month or so, and I've had a lot of freelance. We did start working out together in our clubhouse's recently re-done workout room. It's a fun activity to do together and is keeping up with our trying to be healthier attitude.

And this last weekend was busy, we had parties, and conferences, and craft fairs, and went to the movies too. I got to see my mom selling signs that she paints for a friend's business in the Venice craft fair. Her signs were great!

I love sunsets, long walks, and picnics

2009-09-06T14:16:00.002-04:00

No, this title is not the beginning of a personal ad, just a play on it because of this weeks events. ;P

So when Ray got home from football last week he tells me he wants to start eating healthier, and exercising more, and there I was waiting with caramel corn for him! Oh well, we ate it in moderation and he liked it very much, and I shared more of it with friends this week. But maybe posting something about the health changes we're trying to make online will be a source of accountability for us. ;) I went down to the clubhouse of our neighborhood this week to inquire about a key to the newly re-done workout room. We should get our key soon, and then we can go any time of day we like. What a blessing!

Besides that, I had the privilege of delivering some gifts with Alyssa on behalf of our small group to a co-worker of hers that just had a baby boy. We were able to hold him at only 12 days old, I'm sure the youngest I have ever held! He was so sweet and tiny, it was very unreal.

Now for the sunset and long walk part of the week. Friday evening Ray and I spontaneously decided to go and get in a walk after dinner. We walked the Ringling causeway, which we've never done before, and it was so much fun to spend that time together out of the house. And it costs nothing! We didn't push ourselves or anything, just enjoyed the evening skies and breeze. I'm always taking pictures of the beautiful, unique skies that God paints for us to see and the photos never do it justice. I keep taking them all the same figuring that I'll do a bunch of paintings one day.

Then on Saturday we had a big friends and family picnic out at South Lido Park that we've been planning for a while with our friends. It was a lot of fun and we were so happy that so many people were able to make it! David and Alyssa were so helpful and did all of the grilling, and everyone brought such yummy side dishes and desserts. We had hot dogs, hamburgers, fruit salad, cheesy potatoes, a veggie platter, baked beans, quiche, chips, brownies and mississippi mud bars, though I'm sure I've missed something. I think we had 24 people show up of old friends and new friends from college and church, and some of their parents, siblings and grandparents. It was a really great day, and we were so blessed to not have been rained out! I'm looking forward to relaxing with Ray when he gets home from football again today, and tomorrow while he's off of work for Labor Day.

sunday afternoon popcorn

2009-08-30T18:28:00.000-04:00

I have never been any good at keeping a journal. But since I seem to have gotten the hang of this blogging thing in at least a professional context and found it rather fun, I've decided, in an effort to keep friends and family updated, to create a more personal account of our lives.

My husband Raymond, and a good chunk of friends from church are back into playing Sunday afternoon football today. Ray even has a round of ultimate frisbee to attend this evening with another group. Probably spurring more from my sweet tooth, but also in a thought of nice surprise for Ray, I decided to make a delicious treat while he is gone. We have no store bought goodies left since it is the end of the month and I will wait till Tuesday to go shopping under the new budget, but I always enjoy the things I make myself the best. One of the greatest things my mother taught me was this satisfaction and sharing it with the ones you love.

So flipping through my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, something I bought after we purchased our first home together 4 years ago, I ended up in the "Candies" section and happened upon "Caramel Corn." This sounded just right for what I had on hand.

For such a quick and simple endeavor, the results have surpassed my expectations. Much better than even the gourmet kind I've received as gifts before! I also decided to take it a step further with drizzling some melted milk chocolate over half of the batch.

Here is a link to the recipe on the Better Homes and Gardens website, though there are a few differences I'll point out from my printed edition:

1/3 cup butter is listed as 6 tablespoons butter, which is just about the same but easier to measure

Step 2 from the book much simpler and works fine: For the caramel mixture, in a medium saucepan combine brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Continue boiling at a moderate, steady rate, without stirring, for 5 minutes more.

The book said to butter the foil that you cool it on, I'm not sure whether omitting this step will make a difference or not.

For my chocolate: I simply used half a bag of milk chocolate chips, which was probably a little more than I needed to cover the amount that I did, and a splash of milk heated over lowest heat on the stove. But you could just as easily melt it in the microwave without the milk. Depends on how drizzly you want to get. Of course you could use any type of chocolate that you want, I just had milk chocolate on hand.

I have to say that the caramel mixture is really wonderful, you'll love it! I can't wait for Ray to get home so we can share it together!