Monday, June 30, 2008

Don't tell Dan....

...but I went ahead and read the last 35 pages of our book.

Up until the last 35 pages we have been successful in reading the book together. I'm a bad, bad girl.

And the really bad part is that I hated the ending.

Stupid book.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

whew!

What a weekend this has been...in a totally great way!

Friday Dan packed up his car and I followed him out to the camp. We dropped his car off and headed to Livingston, TX. We met with the youth pastor, Jason, and his wife Lindsey. We went to eat a great Mexican food restauant and ended up staying there for, like, three hours. We shut the place down. Well, there were still people eating when we left, but we didn't realize that it was past their closing time. Oops!

Saturday the youth group had an outreach planned, so we went with them to that. They did a great job. One little boy gave his life to Jesus. Totally worth it. We had lunch, went back to the hotel for a little while, then met back up with Jason, Lindsey, and the jr. high pastor. We got to talking and realized that we knew a lot of the same people. In fact, we actually worked at one of the same churches a couple of years apart from each other.

Today was really cool. We knew the service was going to be pretty tight because there was a lot going on, but it turned out good. The youth did a drama, and as soon as it was done, they brought the lights down for our promotional video. When the lights came back up, Dan spoke for a few minutes, hitting the highlights of Ready Now and encouraging the adults and youth from scripture. He did a really good job saying what needed to be said in a timely manner because of the time crunch we were on. Nancy Harmon (Southern Gospel) was in the service as well a guest speaker, so there was no time for dilly-dallying.

We headed back after lunch and got to the camp around 6:45. It starts tomorrow, so we got Dan's stuff unloaded into his room, and I came back home. I'm so glad that he is only 30-45 minutes away now, as opposed to 5 hours. I'll at least get to see him on the weekends, and probably on my days off as well.

The only thing that stinks, though, is that we've gotten into the habit of reading a book on long trips. We started a John Grisham book and were looking forward to finishing it on the way back. When we got to the camp, we had 35 pages left and no more time to read. Grrrr.

One thing is for sure...I will sleep good tonight!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

what to say...what to say.....

Wow!
I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted!

*We had our yearly inventory the 8th. It went really well. I don't want to say I was surprised at how well it went, but coming into a situation that hadn't been good, I didn't know what to expect. It was a relief!

*Last Friday we attended a funeral near Waco. One of my dear friend's mom passed away. Just about everyone in the family had a part of the service, in one way or another, whether it was through music or spoken word. It was really beautiful and honored her mom perfectly. Love you, Teesie!

*We spent Friday night in Temple and were able to have dinner with Neil, Janene, and their four kids. Some of you might remember that they came to San Angelo and went to church with us last year. Another couple that had come to visit us in San Angelo was Joel and Jessica. The first time they visited and came to church with us, they had no children. Well, Saturday we went to their son's second birthday party and got to see their baby girl for the first time! My, how time flies! It was really nice to be able to spend time with all of them...not enough time, though!

*On the way back home Saturday, we stopped at Camping World to pick up some supplies and look around. You would not believe some of those campers! They are nice, and have some pretty nice price tags to go along with it!

*Seph, I feel your pain in trying to cool down a house that has had the air off. It was the middle of the afternoon when we got home, so we knew it wasn't going to get cooled off anytime soon, so we worked outside for a couple of hours. We were so hot. I talked Dan into going to the pool. He's not a big fan of swimming, but I didn't really give him a choice, truth be told. So we went to Sonic for a drink, then off to the pool we went! It was just nice laying in the chairs by the pool, but I did get in for a little while. It felt so good. I don't think I've been in a pool since those water aerobic days, rhondiemarie! I tried pulling out some of those moves...Dan wasn't impressed. Oh well. It was nice, anyway! By the time we got home, it was nice and cool.

*One week from today Dan goes to camp for rec crew orientation. Then next weekend, we will be going to Livingston for an outreach project, then that next Monday CAMP STARTS!!!! I can't believe it's already time again!!!

Well, I guess that's all for now. I didn't realize I had so much to say!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Full Circle

Dan and I were honored to attend a wedding last night. The bride is the daughter of the last pastor we were on staff with in the Houston area about eight years ago.

And it truly was an honor to be invited. That young lady has had and will continue to have a special place in my heart.

However, there was a time when I could not even look at her parents because of all the hurt and ill feelings. Things were said to us that should never come from anyone, much less your pastor...things like, "I have a house and a church to build. I don't have time to work on a relationship with you." or "You will be divorced in less than a year."

Word curses.

Hurtful things that caused us to say we would never go into ministry again.

Fast forward eight years.

Over the years since that time, we've seen them at different events and fine arts. We've made small talk and exchanged pleasantries, but avoided the big bulky thing in the path that needed to be moved in order to successfully move forward. A couple of years ago, the Lord began to show us things from that situation that we should have done or could've done better. The next time Dan saw them, he apologized for our part of the ordeal. It was accepted, and the wife was very sweet, but he never really reciprocated. That was tough. After all the things that was said to us and about us to other people, we thought that if we put forth the effort, we'd be met halfway and then be able to take steps to fully mend the relationship. That didn't happen.

Until last night.

We had just finished dinner and were sitting with some of the people from that church we were on staff at. The parents of the bride and groom were walking around, talking with the guests. Randy came up to our conjoined table and was having general conversation. We were sitting at the end of the table, and as he made his way down to our end, he gave Dan a hug, and said, "Man, I love you. I have always loved y'all. I'm sorry for the way I treated y'all. I did not treat you the way a senior pastor should treat his staff. I should have lead you, and I didn't. I'm sorry."

While he's talking, Dan starts shaking his head and telling him that it wasn't all his fault.

He said, "I know there were things on both sides, but at that time I was going through some things that manifested itself later, and I didn't need to be in the ministry at that time, and I took it out on you, and I want you to know I'm sorry and I love you, and we are so glad you are here."

I know that it took a lot for him to say that, and I thanked him for it because it meant more to us than he'll ever know. It was pretty emotional.

It was a milestone...a full circle moment.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

one year ago...

I can't believe it's been one year since I started blogging!

I began this blog with the intent of using it as a pregnancy journal.

Click here for a reminder.

What a year this has been! I would never have believed you if you told me last year where I would be today.

Nothing is the same except for the love that I have for my heavenly Father, my husband, extended family and friends, and, of course, my dog. Most everything else has changed in one way or another.

No, we don't have a baby...yet.

But, we do have Ready Now. God has taken something that was a dream of ours and turned it into a reality. We are truly living our dream. God has provided for us in so many ways, it is amazing to us. He has opened doors and put people in our path that we may have otherwise never met.

What a mighty God I serve.
He is my provider.
I am in awe that he cares so much for me.

And the thing is...there is more in store!
It's not over yet!
How crazy is that?

I began this blog a year ago with an expectancy of new things to come.

At first, it made me a little sad. But when I began thinking and writing about the things God has done, it made me get out of that funk! Of course, I want to be a mom, and it's okay to be sad that I'm not. But it will not override the good that has taken place overall.

And I still have that expectancy.