My parents were so generous this year! They know I love to travel so they surprised me with a trip to San Antonio the Monday before Christmas. It was quite cold there, but the riverwalk was beautiful! :) Thanks Dad and Mom!!!!
~I will try to post more pics and write an update soon. I am headed to Austin for a New Year's Party.
Well I am up way late because I can. :) I'm on CHRISTMAS BREAK and loving every minutue of it. I just got back from a fabulous Christmas party with my cousins and friends over in Haltom City, TX. So far I have been to more than 5 Christmas parties and it is not even Christmas yet! Crazy!!! I will eventually post pictures. I just have not been in the mood to blog. So maybe over the break I can come up with some interesting posts. We shall see.....
In the meantime, tell me one favorite Christmas tradition your family has. My Mom buys matching pjs for the girls! So fun!!!!
Have a Merry Christmas!!!!
This website contains some powerful testimonies as to why mankind is second to our Lord. Some people that are interviewed: Jason Castro, Josh Hamilton, Stephen Baldwin, and the list continues.
www.iamsecond.com
Very well done!
A Baby Changes Everything by Faith Hill
Teenage girl, much too young
Unprepared for what’s to come
A baby changes everything
Not a ring
On her hand
All her dreams and all her plans
A baby changes everything (x2)
The man she loves she’s never touched
How will she
Keep his trust
A baby changes everything (x2)
And she cries, oh she cries
She has to leave, go far away
Heaven knows she can’t stay
A baby changes everything
She can feel it’s coming soon
There’s no place, there’s no room
A baby changes everything (x2)
And she cries and she cries O she cries
Shepherds all gather round up
Up above stars shines down…
Choir of Angels say
Glory to the newborn king
A baby changes everything (x2) everything, everything, every day
Hallelujah x4
My whole life is turned around
I was lost and now I’m found
A baby changes everything (x2)
Tonight I heard this song for the first time on the radio. Wow!!! Faith Hill has an amazing voice. A baby does change everything and I am so thankful to serve a Wonderful Savior! Jesus Christ came to die on the cross and raise from the dead!!!
Praise the Lord! Merry Christmas!
" And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior..."Luke 1:46-47
I just love this picture of you Dad. :) 
Last Sunday afternoon, I went over to Kyle and Sherah's to babysit my adorable niece, Ryland. Boy(Girl) did we have fun! One of the many joys of being an aunt is smiling at how silly Ryland is and watching a sweet little girl play.
Past 
Present
I am sitting in a Ford Tractor as little girl. 
Now I drive a Ford Mustang as a big girl.
I wished Dallas looked like this, but today was a high of 75 degrees. It will be awhile and maybe never. Oh well.Really random questions because it is Thursday evening and I'm wide awake and don't know what to blog.....
1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2.Your significant other? Not, but in Love with the Lord
3. Your hair? Annoying
4. Your mother? Gorgeous
5. Your father? Splendid
6. What I enjoy doing? traveling
7. Your dream last night? something about my cousins
8. Your favorite drink? Hot Chocolate
9. Your dream/goal? To live my life for Christ
10. The room you're in? Bedroom
11. Your fear? Wasps
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Home
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? perfect
15. Muffins/donuts? Donuts
16 One of your wish list items? Finding a man of God that I can marry
17. Where you grew up? Mountains
18. The last thing you did? Listened to music on www.M88.org
19. What are you wearing? Express Shirt, Express Pants
20. Your TV? Vizio
Fun on the Kitchen Floor
Picnic at White Rock Lake
Cheap Entertainment: Carseat Box
If anyone has known me for a long time, you will know that for some reason I am either placed in awkward situations or just 'out of the blue' things tend to happen to me. Once again tonight was one of those nights. Tonight after church ,I headed over to a place called Sneaky Pete's that is next to Lake Lewisville. At this random 'bar, restaurant, volleyball courts, on the lake kind of place' I was supposed to meet up with other home group leaders to get to know them from The Village. It was one of those 'single mingle' functions that always turn out to be so awkward to me. Well I ran into some people I knew, but the leaders I was supposed to meet never showed up. So the rest of the time spent at Petes was all small talk and well just sort of a bummer. I mean it was great meeting some new faces, but honestly it was not what I expected. So after we all left I decided on the way home to stop by a favorite coffee shop (Dunn Brothers Coffee) by my apartment to indulge in drinking a yummy pumpkin spice latte. At this point I was sort of laughing on the inside because once again I realized that I am not in control of anything...so I walk into Dunn Brothers and low and behold a man in his, I would guess 70s, was playing a saxaphone right as you walk in, an older lady has the tamborine in hand, a lady singing her heart out while playing on guitar, and the whole coffee shop is filled with people that were probably in their 60s and 70s rockin' out on a Saturday night. Really? I had never seen Dunns Brothers like this....It was pretty cool, but I was the youngest one besides the guy behind the counter...all alone....and it was awkward. So I just went up to the counter, ordered my latte to go and as the ever so kind guy handed me my latte with the lid off, I looked down and saw that he made a froth shaped heart in my latte. I smiled, he smiled, and I left. Such a random Saturday night.
My good friend, Kari Nevins, is now selling her designs on www.Etsy.com. You have to checkout the adorable clothing for kids. :) Go to: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6222757 She is so talented! Kari you are an amazing Mom!!! I miss you!
Well tonight I feel like I have been to a U2 Concert. I really had never listened and understood some of the lyrics of U2 until tonight. The discussion and watching several music videos was interesting and gave me an appreciation for deep lyrics. I am not sure if I totally understand, but I enjoyed digging into culture and theology.
DTS professor will focus on U2's music, Theology (Interview from www.thevillagechurch.net)
If Dr. Glenn Kreider breaks out in praising God in the middle of one of the U2 songs that he'll be speaking about, you need to understand that he's only seen his favorite band live once, and the experience ranked pretty high for the professor of Theological Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.
"It was a life-changing experience for me," said Dr. Kreider of the concert. "It was one of the top five experiences in my lifetime. To be in the midst of a group of people who were appreciating the music and to join in and sing the way we were singing, to be singing words that speak of caring for people, of respecting one another, of love. That's the kind of worship experience I would love to have regularly."
Dr. Kreider will be leading a discussion of "The Music and Theology of U2" at The Village's Culture and Theology program at the Highland Village Campus on Friday, Oct. 17, from 7 to 9 p.m.
"And then," he said of the concert, "they ended with the song 'Yahweh.' It was unbelievable."
Dr. Kreider's fascination with the Irish band dates back a few years when he found himself detached from the culture of his teenage daughter. "She was in high school," he said, "and I discovered I didn't understand her world and the culture to a great extent."
Thus began his journey of reconnecting with culture, and in that journey, Dr. Kreider found something very interesting. "My position, now that I have a more robust understanding of culture, is that we don't understand and study culture to understand the world. We study culture to better understand God. If God is revealed in trees and most Christians affirm Romans 1 that teaches that creation reveals God, then we study culture to better understand the Creator.
"In U2, we're talking about people who are Christians who are engaging today's culture in a Christian way," he said. "They're really kind of easy. I try to see how God is revealed in Coldplay and other artists who are not trying to reveal God intentionally in their music."
Dr. Kreider finds that many Christians disconnect from culture much like he had. "What happens is that as we spend more and more time with other Christians, we recognize more of the perversity of the world around us, and we try and establish little worlds of safety. And when we do engage with those around us, we engage with people with an agenda. The agenda is not to know them or understand them but the agenda is to get to them to the gospel."
U2 has long been a topic of debate among Christians. Dr. Kreider sees a few reasons for those discussions. "Conservative evangelicals, in particular," he said, "are not connected to the culture and believe we should stay away from the world as much as possible so that we won't be corrupted by it. The second issue with the band is that they are not Americans and as several of my Irish students have told me, music functions differently in Irish Christianity than in America. American Christian music answers questions. Irish Christian music raises questions.
"They don't have the social obligations and their mores are different. The American Christian who smokes a cigarette is somehow really worldly. The language is different. F-bombs mean something different; at least that's what the students tell me. And, I think there's a view of the gospel that's radically different for people who grow up in the midst of religious conflict and suffering and persecution as opposed to growing up in prosperity."
To prepare for the Oct. 17 program, Dr. Kreider suggests listening to as many U2 songs as possible, but there's one song, "Where the Streets Have No Name," that you can count on hearing that evening. "If I had to pick one, I'd say that most days, that's my favorite song," he said. The song's lyrics speak of a day when Christ restores all things and life won't hurt anymore.
I highly recommend this book, Christian Beliefs, by Wayne Grudem. I am reading the Bible and this book with my mentor and with the ladies that come to the home group that the Lord has me leading on Thursday evenings. This book is a basic, yet in deepth guide to Christian beliefs. Wayne asks questions like, What is the Bible? and What is God like?. I believe it is vital as a Christian to be reminded of what we believe. We are only on Chapter 2 and Wow! I am so thankful for the God I serve! Here are some words that Wayne Grudem points out to describe God: Eternal, Knowable, Unchangeable, Freedom, Wise, Love, Holy, Perfect, Righteous, Just, Unity, Beautiful, Jealous, He Exists....and the words continue.....
Tonight I wish you could have been a fly on the wall watching me at my Zumba and HipHop Class. Quite a funny sight! Yes I have tried to go to the Tuesday night class on a regular basis. I dance/workout for about an hour and 15 minutes. However, I am struggling going to the other two workout sessions on Monday and Wednesday due to meetings or just pure laziness. Oh well Tuesday is great right now.
So this is what I have been up to:
Church
Teaching
Leading a Home Group
Grading Papers
Cleaning
Hanging out with family
Hanging out with the few friends I have
Dancing
Sleeping
Watching the News , TLC, and HGTV when I have time
Pretty busy, but doing great! I will try to post some fun pics soon.
"I used to feel so alone in the city. All those gazillions of people and then me, on the outside. Because how do you meet a new person? I was very stumped by this for many years. And then I realized, you just say, "Hi." They may ignore you. Or you may marry them. And that possibility is worth that one word." ~Augusten Burroughs
This quote made me smile today because sometimes I do feel alone, yet when you just say hi it sometimes makes a world of difference. :)
I am so happy I was able to sleep in today. This week seemed very long at work and I have been so busy with meetings, teaching, hanging out with friends etc. I just love weekends. I have not done a whole today. I have enjoyed watching it rain almost all day. This evening a good friend of mine from high school is going to come over. I think everyone should have a weekend to chill. :)
The rains from Hurricane IKE have reached the Dallas area. These are two pictures from my apartment.
This picture was taken a month ago, but today was just one of those days that I felt feelings of being crazy, silly, frustration, and having hair that is hard to manage.
The bell rang at 7:50 am and my classroom was filled with 17 excited, nervous, shy, eager 3rd Graders and one anxious, happy teacher. Today was the first day of school. My students this year are so precious. We got a lot accoplished today and it seemed like time flew by! I have high hopes for these little ones and so far the first impression of them was awesome! We shall see about tomorrow. :) Tonight I am worn out for sure.Well I have offically completed one class on Everlast Shadow Box and one class of Zumba. On Tuesday I worked out for an hour and 15 minutes. Crazy! Today I worked out again for an hour and 15 minutes. Let's just say I am beat! The Zumba class was a lot of fun on Tuesday. Zumba is a workout that combines high energy and motivating music with synchronized dance movements designed for any fitness level. The routines feature aerobic fitness interval training with a combination of fast and slow rhythms that tone and sculpt the body. Basically I learned really fun dance moves. Shadow Box on Wednesday is a total body conditioning class that incorporates punches as well as athletic drills designed to get you ready for the ring. Umm let's just say I almost died. :)
Thanks to my cousin Brim and Aylin for getting me motivated to workout. I think these classes will be a great stress relief after a day at work and plus I hope to be in shape. Check back in a few weeks to see if I hang with this new routine in my life. :)
Here is a list of what I have been up to:
Watching the Olympics,
Watching the Olympics,
and
Watching the Olympics!
I am also housesitting this weekend for Kyle and Sherah. Tomorrow is the day I have to report back to work. I have meetings this next week and then students start school on Aug. 25th. It has been a fabulous summer.
Wow! Today was the first day in my life I could not go into church. Crazy, I know! Why you might ask....well the service was full of people hungry for the Lord and due to firecode they could let anyone else in. Kyle, Sherah, Ryland, and I even got a parking space, but yet when we got up to the doors, we could see people were squeezed in and there was no room. The Village Church already has 6 services because of this very problem. We have a small building, but thankfully the church has purchased the Albertsons to renovate. :)
Last week, beloved Pastor Skip Heitzig of Calvary of ABQ, asked for prayer for his best friend, Greg Laurie and family. The Laurie Family lost their 33 year-old son, Christopher, in an automobile accident in CA last Thursday morning. Christopher left behind a beautiful wife, Brittany, a cute daughter, Stella, and a baby girl to be born in November. From what I have heard and read, the Laurie family believe strongly in Jesus Christ as their Savior. I am in awe of their love and passion to spread the Word. The Lord has really pressed upon my heart to pray for this family, especially Brittany and her girls. I ask that you please pray for them too. Tears filled my eyes and a smile stretched across my face as I watched the memorial service today. The Gospel was preached and I know my Savior is in full control. Christopher did not die, He is Alive with Jesus!
Below are two websites that I encourage you to visit. May you be encouraged and please keep the Laurie Family in your prayers.
Memorial Webcast: http://www.harvest.org/church/
Greg Laurie's blog: http://blog.greglaurie.com/
Artwork at Shidoni 
Artwork at Shidoni
Artwork at Shidoni
Favorite Glass Studio
Downtown Santa Fe 
Another View
Santa Fe, NM
Checkout the TV in this pic. :)
