take a journey with us.

this past weekend, our church did something that brings me great joy. why? for one, i feel like amongst all of the craziness that we have at christmas time, it brings a bit of peace and focuses everyone who participates on the real reason we celebrate this holiday called CHRISTmas. it is an event that anyone in the church can get involved with, whether that means creating costumes, building sets, collecting goods at garage sales throughout the years, peddling their wares, or being a part of the cast. and finally, it gives back to our local community. admission is $1 or a canned good which goes to our local food pantry.

travelers arrive, take the census, and then begin a journey throughout the church (which really doesn't look much like a church after we're done with it). along the way they meet up with robbers, an upset king herod, stressed out guards, busy merchants in the market place, and disgruntled innkeepers, but the final scene encompasses nothing but beauty, peace, stillness, and that warm feeling of love. as you kneel at the manger of Jesus.

check out the cast of journey below

and check out more pics of the event here

and here's some amazing news. our final numbers

549 travelers

over $500 collected for the lighthouse

and almost 200 canned goods for the lighthouse

praise God for another great journey!

.one night.

you know how you have those nights that seem like they will change your life forever. well the one night these people are celebrating really did!



merry christmas!

snow days.

today is a snow day. if that first statement does not get you excited, then you obviously don't live in a location where snow will often fall plentifully from the sky. today, my little town is expected to get 12-16 inches followed by winds that will cause us all to be stuck in our little, hopefully warm houses." ahhh yes, there is something magical about snow days.

to make a snow day great you must put on the proper attire...aka....sweats, comfy shirt, maybe a stocking hat to top it all off. next you must drink the right drinks. hot cocoa, coffee, hot cocoa + coffee, cider, and hot teas are all appropriate. and finally, chose the correct tunes. i'm going with my christmas cheer playlist, and i wanted to share it with you. enjoy!

my playlist:

happy snow day everyone.

source.

november pictures of the day are here!

my november pictures of the day are up.. november was one fantastic month, filled with many many memories. too bad i only have one picture of the day each day.

and check out our family christmas photo for 2009. it brings me great joy!

to check out more great november pictures just click here.

.dec 01.

christmas has exploded in my house, a true sign that my favorite month of the year has arrived. i'm hoping to have the pine tree, shattered bulb pieces, and glitter vacuumed out of my carpet by the end of the night, and that i get to share with you all some pics of my remade house. happy christmas everyone!

i laugh, because sometimes i do get this carried away with christmas lights.

photos found here.

wrestling.

hello everyone.

i'm coming to you from the balcony of the omni hotel. it overlooks the cnn center. hold on, i gotta grab a picture and show you this.

it just makes me giddy really. i think the only time i will get such lush treatment is at the youth workers conventions. yes, that's why i am in atlanta. i'm at the national youth workers convention and day one has been nothing short of amazing, inspiring, refreshing, challenging, and totally God moving.

To sum up my day in short, today was a day of questions. Tough questions, with answers that aren't going to be found immediately. Answers that aren't always easy to give honestly. But answers that will be worth it in the end. I wanted to post some of these questions for you all and ask that you pray for me as I wrestle with some of these issues, trying to find out what the Creator of this magnificent universe has written in His plans for me.

What holds me back from completely letting go and worshiping God?

Is my fear of failure holding me back from taking steps of faith in my youth ministry and life?

If someone interviewed my youth kids, what are the 1^st words they would use to describe me?

If God was interviewed about me, what would be His words about me be, and would they match up with what my youth kids are saying?

If you abide in Jesus, there will be fruit (John 15). Do I really believe that?

Is your prayer life better this year than it was last?

Do you know more about God's word now, than you did a year ago?

one adorable family ♥

I did my first family photos last weekend. We went to the farm of a good friend of mine which provided the perfect canvas to work from. i loved the colors, lighting, and beauty of the day.

here's a little taste of what we did.

check all of my favorites out here.

.chili bowl 2009.

this past weekend i had the pleasure of attending chili bowl 2009. chili bowl has become an annual event in our town, and now we find ourself in year three. chili bowl brings a variety of people together for a chili cook off and in years past, games of flag football. here's some fun clips from the night.

12 chilis total for tasting goodness

steph = the fire master.

3rd place!

harvest widows paige & colby

treat treat?

nick was the chili champion with his smoke house chili

the most important sign in the place.

and as promised...dane and my chili bowl recipe that won us second place.

its super easy, and super delicious.

*****************************************************

2 pounds ground turkey browned

2 cups medium salsa

2 cups frozen corn kernels

1 cup water

1 can chicken broth

2 (14 ounce) cans great Northern beans. One drained, one with juice

1 (8 ounce) package monterey jack cheese

½ stick of velveta

*****************************************************

Combine all of the ingredients over low heat for about 30 minutes or until cheese has melted.

*****************************************************

this recipe actually came from allrecipes.com with a little tweaking of the ingredients.

enjoy!

smiles.

i am spending today substitute teaching. yes. as well as being a youth pastor i get to sub. i enjoy subbing because instead of being in my office for most of the day, i am surrounded by the kids that i enjoy spending time with and getting to know! today i am the school librarian, and things aren't too crazy busy, so i was checking out some of my favorite websites, and ran across these things that made me smile!

chicago

my youth group will be taking a mission trip to chicago, il in the summer of 2010. we will be working with csm and serving in whatever ways we are needed. from soup kitchens to homeless shelters. i am so excited!

owls!

this girl reminds me of myself with her crazy owl obsession. i still have my "owl family picture" on my list of goals.

document december

one of the coolest scrapbooking ideas i have ever seen. if i find some spare time over the course of the month of november, i might put one together for december. it is my favorite time of year! so now, all i want to do is scrapbook.

and finally these beauties.

i am learning how to knit so i can make them for myself. my wonderful mother is making me a brown pair, while i work on the gray.

i have a fantastic weekend ahead!

* rebecca & bonnie are coming to visit *

* dinner at my favorite mexican restaurant el puerto tonight *

* chili bowl...i must go start my chili so it is perfect...i'll post the recipe after the event *

* 24 feet on sunday *

happy friday everyone!

.october pics of the day.

Some of you know this...some of you don't, but I take a picture a day and post it on facebook at the end of the month.

So check out my October pics of the day! Just click here and enjoy!

happy tuesday everyone!

.a halloween weekend to remember.

it was a joyous halloween weekend. here are a few pics to share with you.

we celebrated my dad's birthday thursday. love ya dad. this pic was taken at the water wall in houston, tx while on a mission trip this past summer. so fun to serve alongside my dad in houston.

friday we traveled to tulsa, ok to see the david crowder band. one of my favorite bands of all time, if not, THE favorite band of all time. it was a very uplifting evening.

they played at cain's ballroom, which is a place where some of country's greatest have played, so the banjo was quite appropriate. it was said that we were the best crowd on the entire tour.

bwack built a robotic drum. seriously the man is a genius in more than one way. check out this video

two of my favorite quotes from the crowder concert come from my mom, she loves loves loves david crowder

"Earplugs, you don't need earplugs at a david crowder concert. If you have him ringing in your ears the rest of your life, it would be worth it."

"I wish I could fly and be invisible."

we also stayed at a hotel in tulsa. when we pulled up, this is what we saw outside our door with a half inch gap around it. i could do nothing but smile.

halloween brings about a tradition that i love. we have started building huge fires in our front yard and decorating with all sorts of fun pumpkin lights. i think the place looks adorable each year!

rebecca's cat...wil-duh-bee was a hot dog. how hilarious huh?

sunday was the youth group costume party. here are a few snapshots of things that made me smile!

we have great carving skills!

NO! NO! IS IT HIM? TELL ME IT'S HIM!

don't they make you smile?

and there is lots of fun coming up this week!

* Tiger football on Tuesday*

*Journey to Bethlehem starts...I can't wait to share more about this with all of you!*

*Coffeehouse Wednesday*

*This Is It..the new Michael Jackson movie on Thursday*

*Rebecca is in town 2 weeks in a row!!!*

*Chili Bowl*

*A photo shoot with my cousin's family*

and

*24 Feet*

happy monday everyone!

keep the doctor away ♥

you will find this lovely bowl of apples sitting in the coffeehouse tonight. drifting through the air is also the scent of homemade caramel. yes tonight, at the coffeehouse, we are serving one of my favorite autumn treats, caramel apples.

i've always thought that caramel apples or candied apples were one of the most magical ways to eat fruit. just thought i would end this post with a little eye candy for you all. hope to see you tonight!

{one} {two} {three} {four} {five} {six}

*snapshots of my weekend*

happy monday. here to share some random moments of my weekend with you. enjoy!

salvaged.

inspiration. love europe.

my favorite image in the magazine.

i made these little list keepers as a quick project. i also made a set for my mom. she is going to have family member take a page and write down our wishes. inspiration came from here.

chicken gnocchi soup

hours of my favorite board game ever...the farming game.

i'm in the mood for chocolate anything!

served up hot out of our church's coffeehouse, the chocolate mocha.

autumn drive.

*

i have a lot to look forward to this week. a few of my goals:

* clean my house. my dear friend rebecca and her cat will-da-bee are coming to visit!*

* create a costume for my youth group costume party...inspiration?*

* make caramel apples for wednesday nights coffeehouse.*

*carve pumpkin.*

*celebrate dad's birthday on thursday!*

*pack for tulsa & david crowder concert*

*