More Links

Hello everyone! Well, as you can see, I have more links! Let me tell ya about 'em right quick. Wow.....Charlie Hall. Charlie Hall is my most favorite worship leader. Everything I know about leading worship, I've learned from Charlie. He is a great guitar player and most awesome worship leader! I've met him a couple of times, taken a couple of pictures with him, and actually gave him the first song I wrote. He is awesome!

Next, guitar chords. For those of you who don't know, I don't think I've ever said before, but I play the guitar and lead praise and worship. This site is where I get most of my chords. OH! Except for SPIN. You gotta check out SPIN. It's pretty cool except sometimes they totally jack up the key and transpose everything really weird and pardon me, but incorrect and unsingable at times. Is that a word?

Embrace Marriage is similar to Marriage Builders, but it's smaller and it's run by a married couple, not a Dr. of any kind. It's got some good tips on it too and I hope to buy some of their suggested books or DVD's sometime. They have some cool radio spots on our Christian radio stations here that really help a lot.

Bible Gateway will help you find any Bible verse you are ever trying to look up if you don't have your Bible right there with you. It is a GREAT resource and has every translation available with all kinds of context and stuff! It's the best!

Focus on the Family is a great website too! I have read some awesome articles on there! You can read about an array of different subjects on this website from a Christian perspective. It's very useful and encouraging. They also have a radio program on some of our Christian radio stations here.

Eating for Life is my most recent.....um.......study, I guess you could say? I have the book, have read it, and have tried a couple recipes. This book answers any and all questions about dieting, food, exercise, and everything in between. It sheds the truth on all those myths out there and presents some very helpful, life-saving information in a very matter-of-fact way. GREAT STUFF! DELICIOUS TOO!

89.7 The House is my favorite Christian radio station! A friend of mine from college is one of the DJ's and I can't even say how much this station has meant to me. All of my days would be terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days without The House there to encourage me throughout any and every moment, good or bad, of my entire day. I always have it on in one form or another whether it be online or on my radio in my car! Check it out! Brent and Janelle are the best!!!!!!! I am also happy to say the my husband is the JK Fan Club President, and I am the First Lady! :)

I Think I Can't, I Think I Can't, I Think I Can't

I am going to share with all of you the most encouraging message I have ever heard in my life. Here is the best advice I have ever received, and now I am going to pass it along to you. Do you want to know what it is? Here you go: You can't do it. There. That's it. It's that simple. We live in a society where we are constantly told, "You can do it!" "You can achieve success!" "Be yourself." "Believe in yourself." "Go after your dreams!" and more. If you ask me, that sounds like a lot of pressure. You might say, "Well, not if you try hard." "Not if you put your mind to it." "Not if you have the will." or what about the famous, "Where there's a will, there's a way." Chew on this: "There is a Way, and He will." Just made that up.

Now, let me try to explain this as briefly and as best as I can. To sum it up, life is hard. Whether you're a Christian or not, this life is hard. Let me tell you something else. If you think that Christians have it easy, think again. If you think that by becoming a Christian, you're taking an easier road, you've got it all wrong. If you think all your problems will be solved, nothing bad will ever happen to you, you will always have the best of everything, then let me share this with you. I've already said, Christian or not, we all face hard times. Now, let me tell you the difference that I've discovered. If you are without Christ, you are alone. You are trying to make it through this life on your own. You are trying to make decisions for your family, you are trying to go in the right direction, you are trying to get through this life, until it ends; but I bet you are frustrated. I bet you feel like giving up. Well, let me tell you, giving up is the best thing you could ever do. Does that sound like the message we hear today? "Never give up! Keep trying! Don't quit! Keep going!" is what we're hearing, but I'm here to tell you, GIVE UP. That's the difference. That's how you "become a Christian". You give up, you quit trying to do it on your own, and you stop right where you are and admit you need help.

Now a word to the "Christians" or "followers of Jesus Christ". Even if you are a Christian, you may feel alone at times. You may feel like you don't know which way to go. Even if you don't, I can guarantee you that you've fallen somewhere along your path and thought to yourself, "I'm gonna try harder next time." "I'm gonna be really committed this time." "I really mean it this time, I'm not going back." "I'm gonna get up every day and have my quiet time." "I'm gonna try harder to make time to read my Bible." "I'm gonna try harder to be a 'better Christian'" Do you hear that? I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna? Guess what! It isn't about you! In fact, it has absolutely nothing to do with you at all! *"The Christian life is not difficult, the Christian life is not hard, the Christian life is IMPOSSIBLE!" Isn't that encouraging? Now think about it. Don't you feel better knowing that living the Christian life is impossible? Living is impossible anyway, but it gets worse when we're in control. Things go wrong when we're calling the shots, trying to do it in our own strength. That's when we fail, and I can guarantee you that you will fail every day if you try to do it all by yourself. So you're thinking, "Well what am I supposed to do then?" and here is the answer to your question. "You are supposed to die." "WHAT?" "Yes, die." "What do you mean by that?" I mean, every day when you wake up, you say, "I am dying to myself, to my desires, to my wants, to my needs, and I'm giving up right now, and giving all control over to God." That's all you have to do. Sounds pretty easy doesn't it? Well, it's not. You can't be perfect, so don't try. *"There was only one Guy who did it perfectly right and they named it after Him." So, when you do make an effort, do it believing that it's not you who's doing it, it's the Power within you. Jesus not only died for you, He lives for you today. He can live IN you today, if only you will let Him. You can face today, tomorrow, or any day after that, "just because He lives". Go on, let it sink in.

*Quotes from Louie Giglio--Passion '05

My First Time

Yep, it finally happened. I finally got pulled over for speeding. Okay, so here's what happened. I was driving home from work and when you pull out of our parking lot, the speed limit is 45 mph until you pass the 4-way stop where it turns 35. Well, I got behind an older gentleman who was weaving in and out of the lanes, driving down the middle of the road, and going 30 mph. So, needless to say, a bit frustrating. After we passed the 4-way stop I thought to myself, "I gotta get around this guy." so I get into the right lane to pass him and I speed up to go around him. Just when I do, that's when I got caught. As I passed the car I thought, "Did I just see another white car out of the corner of my eye?" and then I looked in my rearview mirror and saw him pull out. Of course I slowed down immediately and thought to myself, "Please don't let it be me, please don't let it be me." and the cop was behind another car so I thought, "Good, maybe he won't get me....maybe I'll turn!" but then the car behind me turned and the cop pulled right up on my tail. So I pulled over into the Lotta Burger parking lot and did everything I was supposed to do. I turned off the radio, got my insurance stuff out of the glove compartment and got my license out and then shut off the car. Then I remembered, "OH CRAP! MY LICENSE IS EXPIRED!!!" so I grab my cell phone to call my husband and ask him what I should say. So, I dialed and then noticed the cop was right by the car, so I sat the phone in my lap. I see that it's a black guy so I say in my head, "Please be Monte or Nathan, please be Monte or Nathan, please be Monte or Nathan!" because I know a couple of black cops. IT WAS MONTE! He used to come into the Y all the time! He's awesome! So, I look and say, "Hey Monte!" with a huge smile on my face and he says, "Sweetie, whachu doin' speedin', girl you need to slow your butt down!" and then I hand him my stuff and he says, "This is outta date." and my heart sinks, but then I noticed he was talking about my insurance. I had the old one on top so then he says, "Oh yeah, this is the current one here, you need to put this other one away." Then he looks at my license for a really long time and says, "I'm gonna take this and I'll be right back, I clocked you goin' 44 in a 35 girl!" and he walks off. Then I pick up my phone and it says, "End" so I push it and call Justin back. He had heard the whole thing. He said to play dumb about the license being expired if he mentioned it because I totally knew and just that weekend we were going to go to the tag agency and get it renewed but they closed early. So, he comes back and I get off the phone with Justin. So Monte says to me, "Girl, your license is expired, you need to get that renewed!" and I'm like, "Oh wow!" like I was surprised or something. He said, "You better watch it out here 'cause some of these guys ain't so nice. If you would have been somebody else I woulda wrote ya up! But I'm glad it was you so I could tell you about your license!" and I'm like, "Well, I'm glad it was you!" Then he said, "I'm just gonna write you a warning and tell you that you need to slow your butt down!" so he wrote out the thing and handed it to me, and I said, "Thank you sir." and he said, "Pssht, you don't got to call me sir!" and left! :):):):):)

Now here's the funny part. When I got home, Justin wasn't mad at all, but it's what he THOUGHT was happening that is so funny. I didn't realize that I hit "Call" when I called him so I didn't know that he was hearing the whole thing. But what he thought when he heard Monte's voice and heard him call me "Sweetie" is that I was with some other guy and flirting or something!!! Hahahahahahahaha! Justin was like, "Oh heck no!" "NO she isn't!" but then he was glad 'cause he thought my phone had accidentally called him in the middle of my cheating on him or whatever and he actually thought, "HA! I've caught her! Thank you God!" but then he heard Monte say, "I got you going 44 in a 35" or whatever so then he knew. Isn't that hilarious?? I was like, "Justin, I can't believe you thought that's what was going on. What if I was actually getting kidnapped by some weirdo trying to sweet-talk me and I was trying to let you know." but anyways, all was well and cool. So right before dinner Justin was like, "Do you want to pray?" and he was like, "I think you need to thank God for the mercy He showed you today." so yeah, I was totally thankful and now I drive like 40 in 45mph zones. It was a good wake-up call for my lead foot. L8!

A Word About My Links

Hey everybody! I have links! A word about my links. So okay first, Youth Ministry.com is a WONDERFUL resource for all youth workers that was referred to me by my dear friend, Beth Robertson. Thank you Beth and Tim for the wonderful suggestions! We have put many of these ideas into practice at our last few Wednesday nights, and the kids LOVE IT! So, if you are a youth pastor, youth sponsor, youth teacher, youth worker or any or all of the above, you GOTTA CHECK IT OUT!!!

Next, Marriage Builders.com has literally saved my marriage! Well, let me just say that there are times in marriage when you're like, "Hey, can we just break up?" and it's like, "NO! Are you crazy??? We're not just dating anymore!" and then you're more like, "Well, can we just take a break then?" and it's like, "NO! Are you nuts??? We're not separating!!!" so then you resort to, "Okay, will you just go away then?" and it's like, "NO! Have you like totally lost it???? You're not getting rid of me THAT easy!!!" so finally you say, "Alright, can I just go away then and take a break?" and he's like, "NO! You must be insane!!! I'm not letting you out of my sight!!!" and then it's like, "Fine, I'll go to the bathroom later." Hahahahahaha! No really, all kidding aside, this site has some great tips on how to have a "great" marriage. It's for the small stuff, and the big stuff. So, go take a look at that.

Finally, I don't even know where to start on the last one. Louie Giglio..............wow. What do I say? I have never actually been to a Passion Conference, but Justin and I have several of his DVD's and messages on CD. We just watched the latest Passion '05 and listened to his message. That is for a whole 'nother blog post. I can't even say anything. There's just too much. I still love Charlie Hall, but I do have to say that right now, my favorite worship song is "Holy Is the Lord" by Chris Tomlin. I could make an entire wish list outta Passion stuff. Like I want ALL of Louie's books and CD's and messages, and all the worship albums, T-Shirts and songbooks! CHECK IT ALL OUT at the 268store link on the site!

Happy Searching!

The New Look

Hey everybody! Like the new look? Please comment. It's more...me.

Wreckless

Driving on my way to work this morning, I felt.......tense. It's not like our little city has heavy traffic or even traffic jams, but we do have our little morning rush hour. I can't decide what time to leave because the traffic never seems quite right to me. I know I am in control of my vehicle, but today I wasn't so sure about everyone else. Weaving, changing, slowing, speeding...WATCH OUT! Move over! Okay, GO! I knew you wanted over here earlier, why did you wait until now? Oh, I know you're not gonna like this, you just got behind me so you could go faster, but now I am fixing to turn. SLOW DOWN! Don't rear-end me! Yeah, that's the way my morning was. Just kinda felt like I was the only one watching anybody. But what about when I'm singing? Or when I'm thinking? Or when my mind drifts? It's like I go on automatic cruise control. Sometimes I don't even know how I get to work, 'cause I feel like I am still dreaming. You gotta wonder if you're the only one who feels like that in the mornings. Well, it probably doesn't help that the last thing I watched before I went to bed was a TLC documentary on high-speed car chases. Probably dreamt about it, but can't remember. I'll probably remember while I'm driving sometime today. Lord, help us all!

The Case for A Creator

Greetings all beings on this planet! Humans, plants, animals, bugs, yeah you, I'm talking to you. You wanna know a secret? Now lean in close. Ready? Guess what? GOD MADE YOU! Science just needs to shove it where the sun don't shine and give the link above a look. It will literally change your life. Wait, sorry, sorry. If I feel that way about science, I'm giving it permission to feel the same about me. If I won't give it the time of day, how can I expect it to investigate my side? So okay, I've heard your side. I learned your side. I was taught your side. And you know what I found out? I was lied to. I learned some pretty bad science. How dare lies and totally incorrect, proven false facts be written in any textbook? Well, that is what is happening and being taught all over our world today. Some pretty awesome things are happening though. You wanna hear about what's happening? I'll tell you what's happening. Scientists and professors all over our nation are discovering that they have indeed been WRONG all along. I hope you've heard of Lee Strobel, and if you haven't, please hear about Lee Strobel. This man was an atheist who didn't believe in God at all, let alone Jesus Christ. He had no faith in anything at all, much less the Son of God. He didn't believe in a Creator, he believed in evolution. Well, let me tell you what Lee discovered. He found out that he has a Creator. He found out that this Creator not only made the world, He made Lee too! He found out that he has something to believe in. He found out that this Creator was a Savior, and He is Lee's Savior. Here's the coolest part. This Creator is my Savior too. Here's something even better. This Creator is YOUR Savior too, but you may not know that. Lee never knew that God created the universe and everything in it. He never knew that God created him too. If you ever get a chance to read the book in this post's title, you will discover how great, how truly awesome, and how mighty, and just how big our God is. This book is a huge, massive, gorgeous song of worship and praise! My mind so literally folds at how to describe it. I am left speechless. Just take another breath. Just feel your heartbeat. Tune out the fax machine, tune out the copier, tune out the noisy printer, and the keyboard typing clicks. Can you hear Him? Can you feel Him? He is everywhere. He is everywhere. Look around. Look in the mirror. Do you see Him? He is everywhere. He is..........everywhere. Click on the title of this post to find out more.

T.V. Debut

Here I am again, sitting at work with nothing to do. It's the last hour of my workday, and I can imagine it goes this slow for everyone. It's not that I don't enjoy my job, I just wish I had more to do. Well, that's not it, 'cause if I was so busy I couldn't see straight, I probably wouldn't like that either. Never satisfied, typical woman. ;) Well, we're in our apartment now and we LOVE it!!! We are enjoying it immensely! We've had several opportunities to entertain and it has been so fun! I never knew I would enjoy entertaining so much! This last weekend was my favorite of all! My little nephew Thomas got to come and spend the night with my sister and brother-in-law. It was his first time staying over anywhere, and he did great!!! We went to Enid's Tri-State Music Festival, which I am VERY sad to say, is nothing like it used to be! I marched in the parade for nine years and participated in the competition in music for seven of those years. Oh sure, now a lead decides to come in. Anyways, back to what I was saying. In the old days, the streets were lined with buses, the restaurants and hotels were packed with kids, and all the churches housed the kids too! This was the first of many years when it did not rain! The weather was perfect! It was still fun, but geez, where were all the vendors? Just one "Funnel Cake" vendor and that was it! In the time it took us to walk from the funnel cake box to our car, I managed to get covered in funnel cake snow. Well, let's just say it was fairly windy out and they always put too much powdered sugar on those things and I was carrying a lawn chair over my shoulder for Pete's sake! Boy, that funnel cake tasted good, but man, they're not very good for you! I think I'll go have some Jell-O now. WAIT! Oh yeah duh, my nephew and I were on T.V.! The Enid Community Channel PEGASYS taped us live at the parade! Out of the WHOLE city of Enid that turned up for the parade, we were the only close up in the WHOLE SHOW! Why? BECAUSE HE IS THE CUTEST BABY IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!!! The camera guys found him way more intersting that the silly parade! He's got commercials in his future, I know it. Okay, gotta have that Jell-O.