for my reference

A few weeks ago, one of our assistant pastors preached an excellent message on joy. I love the topic of joy in the Bible because I love to be happy. But the pastor pointed out the source of our joy. Awesome!

(Please excuse me if this is not exactly correct. I'm copying off my notes -- which was my take-away from the sermon.)

1. Joy in the performance of God's work
Ps. 126:5 - They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
Luke 15:10 - Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

2. Joy in the power of Christ's resurrection
Matthew 28:8 - and they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

3. Joy in the pursuant of God's will
Hebrews 12:2 - Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

4. Joy in His presence
Acts 2:28 - Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
Acts 13:52 - And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.

George Muller said that the Christian's greatest responsibility is to rejoice in His God.

Amen!!

game for tomorrow on bus route

So...a while ago, I painted this shoe box for a game for bus. I also bought three packages of alphabet stickers that were all the same font and (as you can see in the pictures below) put them on different colors of computer paper and laminated them. It's great to have a box full of letters as a quick, go-to game for bus. Here's how I'm doin' the game tomorrow.

When it's their turn to pick, a kid will be able to choose (without looking) one vowel and two consonants. They will put the letters they pull on their team's side. The team (collectively) will try to form words as there are more letters put up on their side. Each word has to be a name from the Bible or the name of a book in the Bible. Once a word is formed, points will be added based upon the colors of each alphabet piece.

Hopefully that made sense!! And as a side note, it did take a lot of time to laminate all those letters but it sure has been worth it. I've used them lots of times already and plan on continuing their use in the future!

I'm terribly sorry I've had nothing to say lately.

Isn't that

P
A
T
H
E
T
I
C

??

on Memorial Day

First of all, Thank you to all of our soldiers. We are indebted to you for the freedoms we enjoy in America.

A group of us "single girls" from the church went on a bike ride along L*a*ke Shore Drive in Ch*i*cago. It was a cloudy day and a little windy, especially because we were right on the lake. And we did remember the reason for the holiday. One of the girls who went had an uncle that died heroically in WWII. She told us he would have received the Congressional Medal of Honor but there was no one of higher rank in the area to witness his heroic deeds. He went ahead into battle because he did not have a wife or children back home and his buddies did. Wow!

So here are a few pics:

the lake on a cloudy day

the lake on a cloudy day with the steel mills in the background (hello, pollution!)

one of the few marinas we passed on our jaunt



Jamba Juice stop!

one of the girls and I grabbed some pastries at this cafe; reasonably priced for downtown Chicago which was wonderful!

downtown street view

the pile of bikes in the back of our big white van; seven total!

one week from today....

....My Mom and I are heading to my desired place of residence.

We'll be eating at places like this and this. (Read: seafood galore!)

We'll be shopping until we drop. Literally. We did it last year and plan to do it again. They have such nice, gorgeous clothes in the South. Not kidding. At all. Another reason I wish I lived in the South.

We'll be meeting my northern-born & bred cousin who now lives in the heart of the deep South because of #1 his job and #2 his girlfriend. He's my favorite cousin!

We'll be relishing in Southern hospitality and hot, humid temperatures.

Yay. I'm not excited. At all.

Riiiiiiiiight.

:)

our new hobby

tomatoes, squash, and zucchini

onions, leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach seeds, and a cantaloupe

herbs - herbs - herbs

cucumbers

peas - a lot! (too many?? we'll see!)

the entire thing!

Ok...so I can't attend three weddings in three weeks in a row at our church without talking about weddings! This is typically a topic I steer clear of. Not because I'm bitter or cynical...umm...no, but what's the point? My mind has been spinning with things I want to do if/when I get married. I always say, "if/when" because I truly don't know if I will get married(at this point).

Side note: singleness isn't as bad as it's cracked up to be. Of course there are lonely times. And after a wedding, I would be lying if I didn't say I wished it for myself. But it truly isn't that bad.

Ok so last night, the girl that got married was a year younger than me in school. We grew up together. Her mom is the one I've mentioned before who recently passed away with cancer. It was the sweetest wedding. After the vows & prayer, the pastor forgot to say, "you may kiss the bride"; he just went right into the part...."I'd now like to introduce...". We're all sitting there, like, um....the kissing part? The groom leaned over to the pastor and you could hear him say, "Can I kiss her?" Everyone just started laughing. It was great. It took off any tinge of sadness that was present because the bride's mother wasn't there and totally dispelled it (at least I thought). The reception was fun and happy. It was just absolutely one of the best weddings I've been to at our church!

It's so fun to dream....every once in a while....about "some day, at my wedding....".