Lots of New Stuff and The Craziness Starts again

Sooooo football is over like you have read, but we start basketball on Tuesday!! We will be working with all of the 2nd and 3rd graders from our church. Brent coached last year and had so much fun and so we are looking forward to doing it again. This week I celebrated my 34th birthday. My sweet husband got up early and made me homemade muffins!! Of course there is a story behind the muffins. Let's just say it was the thought that counted!! We had a really great day. I had lunch with some special friends and my favorite meal for dinner that Brent cooked. It was a very special day.



I have also started a new job! I opened a new counseling practice with a lady from my church. Business is slow so far, but we do have clients already and we anticipate things to grow quickly. We were able to open the practice a few weeks early, so that has been very exciting. I am so excited to see what the Lord does in my life through this step of faith.



Brent and I spent the weekend in my favorite place in the USA, the Cove in Asheville. We were able to see the colorful trees and take time to hang out together. It was wonderful to get away and just spend some time together in worship!

This past weekend Brent's dad came to stay with us for the holiday. I will add some fun pictures as well in the next day or so! Wrigley was so funny around him. She kept wanting to sleep in his lap in our chair downstairs. To see a 50 lb dog in someones lap is always a good laugh!

Watch for some pics coming soon!

All Good Things Must Come to an End!

I can't believe I am saying this, but I will greatly miss three days a week football and every Saturday football games!!!! Today was our last game. We scored a touchdown, but it was not enough to win the game. Another tough loss. We end the season 1-7. Our first season playing for Collins Hill is officially over. We still have our banquet which is in the middle of November and will be a bowling party. When we look back at our time with these boys, there are so many things we will miss. We could write a book filled with all of the totally funny sayings 7 year old boys come up with. God used this team to teach us many new lessons about ourselves and about His goodness, love and mercy! Each week we would walk on that field with a fresh start and new chance to win a game. But even when we did not get the win, we quickly remembered the lessons were so much more about the process of the game rather than the win or loss. We will continue to pray for each of these boys and their families that the Lord will draw them into a relationship with Him. Already the Lord has given us the opportunity to work with two of our guys again in our next coaching experience. (I am seeing a pattern in our lives. It so far does not involve any kids of our own, but instead coaching other parent's children!! HUMM???) Brent has been asked to be the commissioner of the 2nd - 3rd grade boys group in the basketball league at our church this year. He will also be coaching a 2-3 grade team, too!! So we will take a quick break to recoup, and then November 27th begins our first basketball practice with games beginning in January! So as one chapter closes in our lives, the next sport begins.
On a fun note, Brent and I have been blessed with the chance to go to one of my most favorite spots in the world (or at least the little that I have seen of the world), The Cove in Asheville, NC. This is the Billy Graham Training Center. For those of you that do not know, I am a BIG Billy Fan!! I had the chance to work at the Cove Camp when I was in college for a summer as well as during the fall for some retreats. I have begged Brent to go with me to see The Cove in the fall one year. Well, Marketplace has a annual retreat in the fall that they host at the Cove each October. We were invited to come join them this year! I can't wait to show Brent how the trees appear to be on fire with all of the beautiful colors in the Asheville mtns! Being a Texas boy he still has no clue what us Northerner's grew up seeing each year!!! (another point for the North all you Texas people! HE HE) All that to say we will have some awesome pics from that trip as well. I have included a picture of our boys from football, one last time, that was from youth night at the Collins Hill High School football game last weekend!!
Good season guys!! There's always next year!! (maybe if Jenna can make it)

These little guys are just so cute!

Tough Day

Finally a team picture. Here is the team, minus one player and one coach. Actually, one of the players in the picture no longer plays for us, because of a skull fracture he got the day before our first game. The accident happened at school and had nothing to do with football, for all of you mom and dads with little boys. Just a mean old monkey bar!! Our winning streak came to a halt this week. (as you will remember we have only won 1 game so far, last week). We just barely lost against Dacula, 33-0! Their boys were big and fast. Oh well, at least no one got hurt, right??? The funny moment of the day was before the game even started. One of our kids lost a tooth while playing around with his teammates. His tooth came out and fell in the grass. He was so focused on finding that tooth which was impossible in the tall grass, where we were practicing. I was so glad when his dad finally came over to the practice area to talk to him and help get his head in the game. Of course, Cam was more concerned about finding the tooth so the "tooth fairy" could bring him his money that night. His dad, being the funny, quick on his feet, father that he is, took out his wallet and gave Cam a dollar and said that he was would spot the tooth fairy the money until she "came that night." That seemed to do the trick, because after that Cam was ready to play! Good times on the field! The season is flying by so fast. I couldn't wait for it to end and now I don't want it to end. There is still hope for the playoffs??? (that is what Brent keeps saying) And of course there is always next year!

Sunday

We had a very busy Sunday (as many of you do as well). We attended the funeral for the 14 year old in our community that passed last weekend. The time was special, a little bit of really crazy theology, and a lot of changed lives. Our NBC local news is channel 11. We love this news channel and have told many of you that before. Our pastor's ''brother in-law" (our pastor's first wife Debby died when she was 27 years old from brain cancer, and Chris Holcomb is her brother) is the meteorologist for channel 11. Additionally one of the main news anchors, Brenda Wood, is also a believer, and often you can tell by both of their attitudes and words they use on TV. So we love this news station. Yesterday, one of there reporters stood next to us during the funeral. Of course we did not realize that at the time. But she got us on tape three times! She has a close up Brent's rolled up program with Terrell's face only showing, my whole program and then the back of my super curly hair and Brent's shaved head! I realize that this is a sad situation because of the death of this young boy, but Dr. Cox shared a great message of hope. He also gave an invitation at the end. The staff of our church counted over 400 people that prayed to receive Christ. Dr. Cox admitted in service last night (after the funeral to our church only) that ideally we would have loved to pass out cards to follow up and begin reaching out to these people. But you can't always do that at a funeral service. There were several girls sitting behind Brent and I that we HEARD them praying to receive Christ. At times I know I have had a bad attitude about going to football practice and games three nights a week and each Saturday, but after yesterday, it is no longer just practice to Brent and I. We are going to the mission field!! A lot of the kids and people there yesterday play for the same football organization that we coach for right now. We are just praying that as the years progress with these same kids and families and as opportunities come up, we will continue to be faithful to share Christ with each of them! As it stands right now there are a few families going through some tough stuff in their lives, that I see God using us. Even possible a chance for Brent to do a funeral for one of our parent's father, if he does not beat the cancer he is fighting! You never know, but we are open and ready to used for HIS GLORY!!
I attached a copy of the news story that has a video with us and our church on it! http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=103568

Finally, Hearts and Skills Collide!

That's right folks, our little guys finally WON!!! We won 33-7!!! We knew we could do it, it just took our team a little time. We all caravaned over to the game. The kids and parents cracked up this morning at 8:30 am when Brent and I came driving in with our Saturn honking our horn and all decked out in Green and White window paint, green and white streamers, a football magnet and a football on our antenna! Brent teaches the boys a slogan each week. This week it was "Hey Hey... 93! Which means that 93% of our success in life depends on our attitudes! So one boy will yell out Hey Hey... (the rest of the team screams) 93! So Brent put on the back of our car the slogan. On one window he wrote "7 yr old Eagles will Soar in Game 4!" Sure enough we did. On the other window we wrote, "GO Eagles"!! We were so proud and excited for the boys. I wish I could put some of the littlest guys' cute plays on this site. One little kid, William Huzzie, has developed quite a bit over this season. This is his first year to play. Brent was pumped about his abilities - big and fast. Yet he cried quite a bit in the first few weeks and fumbled "the baby" as Brent tells them. Each week he gets better and more pumped! Today as he was running for a touchdown, he put his hand out with the ball almost taunting the other team. Although he almost cost us the touchdown because of "Excessive celebrating" it was SOOO SOOO FUNNY. He is also our kid that when he has big plays he will do a little dance. I think my favorite play of the day was by "Baby David". He is the smallest kid on our team. He is the youngest in his family. At the beginning of the season he would not hit anyone. Someone told him that he was hitting like a girl {from "Sandlot"}. So during practice one day another kid was trying to tackling David (and the kid was much much bigger than David) and David tells the kid he is hitting like a girl. The kid runs back and creams little David. David stands up, shakes his head and says, "I'll never say that you hit like a girl again." That's our David! All that to say he is our "Rudy." Today, he got one of the extra points. He tucked his head down and just ran right into the middle of those bigger boys and scored the points. He was so proud to hear his name on the loud speaker! His mom was still prouder! She was shocked that her son did that! It was a GREAT GAME! It was so sweet to see the little guys wearing the initials on their helmets for Terrell Wilson, the football player that died last week. It was a great week to win! Of course it is always a great time to win, but this week it was extra special! GO EAGLES!!!! I have some pictures of the other cars and our car below! Thanks for celebrating our win with us!! (Brent may not sleep tonight he is on CLOUD 99)!! Oh yeah, Brent promised the boys if they won today that he would wear this totally hilarious wig on his head all day Monday to work, bed, practice!! Pictures to come for sure!

Wrigley

I just had to add a second post today regarding our sweet puppy. Some of the things she does are so funny. I want to get her on video "talking" but as soon as I bring out the camera, she just watches the camera and stops talking. One day we will get that on tape. For now, I got her barking today. The funny thing is, since she is a hound, she really doesn't bark, but "Hoooooowls" instead. Check out that mohawk! The problem is she hurts her own ears when she does it, so after each bark she shakes her head. One of the other things she loves to do is get her own ice. I have posted two videos of her funny tricks! Hope you enjoy our daily entertainment as much as we do! WE LOVE US SOME WRIGLEY!!

Another Game Day

We are still having a busy yet exciting football season. Worth every second! Our record is not reflective of our hearts for sure! We are 0-3, but that has not stopped our little guys from trying hard. As the season goes on we are seeing more and more progress each game for sure. In fact our kids have often asked on Monday practices if they won or loss the game. So the score and record is not as important to our little guys I guess. We are going to Caravan tomorrow for our last away game. We are excited to dress up our cars and head to SNELLVILLE to take down our next team! I have a video of our little guys getting ready for the last game. To warm up and understand "hitting" they play "Sharks and Minnows." They have a ton of fun doing it as you can see.

It has been a tough week in our league though. We play with the Gwinnett County Football League. Some of these guys play through 8th grade and then move onto the high school team. Unfortunately, one of the 9th graders at our feeder high school, Collins Hill High School, died in his sleep last Friday night after the football game. His name was Terrell Wilson. He died of a torn Aorta. Our guys will be wearing stickers on their helmets this Saturday with a "TW" on the back of them, in honor of Terrell Wilsom. Our church, North Metro, has the opportunity to serve this family by having the funeral at our church on Sunday at 3 pm. Our pastor has been blessed with the opportunity to serve as the chaplain for the Collins Hill high school football teams. Therefore we have been asked to hold the service at our church. We were told that Terrell had quite an impact on folks around him. He was not known for being one of the best players but having the heart and attitude that is required to be the best! Terrell's legacy will be a great influence on our boys and others for years to come! When tragedy like these happen, it makes us (Brent and I) more determined to do whatever it takes to work with families and kids to know the love of Christ. Our pastor told us Sunday that Terrell was known by his friends as someone who lovedGod's Word and read his Bible a lot. He also pointed his friends to God when they were in trouble. This is why we do what we do! Not for the glory, but so that others may see the love of Christ! We are still praying for many of our families that God will use us to minister to them! Additionally, in our area, the local NBC news station has two Christians on the station. One gentleman, the weather man, goes to our church and the main achor lady is also a Christian. I attached a story she did on Terrell on the news last night! http://www.11alive.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=103431

Almost Game Day!

As our busy lives continue on, the anticipation of our second football game of the season is upon us tomorrow. We have had several laughs with these little guys as well as the big guys (the coaches). The continuous inward struggle of pushing boys to be all they can on the field and off by teaching them skills, obedience, drive and love for the game of football. At the same time building relationships with coaches and parents and even other teams in our association. The thing that is the most funny to me when it comes down to it all, many of the kids are there to have fun!! One of our little guys asked after the last game, "So who won?" It goes to show you that 7 years old are still little guys and just want to play ball!

Besides football, which at this moment it doesn't feel like there is anything else, Brent and I are teaching a Special Needs older youth/adult Sunday School class at church every other Sunday until the end of 2007. Again another hilarious adventure for sure. The kids/adults are so so sweet and just make us laugh. Brent asked one of our guys who has Downs Syndrome to read our Bible Story for the morning. This little guy reads really well but really really quiet, almost a whisper. So you almost get to the point that you just follow along in your own Bible and hope you end the verse about the same time. The funny part was when he was in the middle of reading one of the boys in the class kept talking and talking. So Blake (our reader) without batting an eye or looking up said, "then God said let there be light and BE QUIET PLEASE, and there was light." I know it was a have to be there deal, but Brent and I could not contain our laughter! They are all so funny. Even the prayer request that they have for us are so sincere and personal and things that we totally forget we need to pray about! As you can see, again we are having a good time. Brent is teaching (because he loves it and does so well) and I am just helping when I can! I took some pictures from our first day in class with our crowns on our heads that we had made, but they are on Brent's phone, so I will post some other pictures from this years VBS which Brent also helped in this class!
These are two of youth that help with Agape (Special Needs
Ministry) dressed up for a skit in VBS.


Some of our "Friends" also in a play

First Play

And finally The First PLAY. As you watch this, let me add that the very very loud screaming you hear is from the other teams coach! You can see Brent pacing a little in the right corner of the video. I have to brag a little and say that we have had SOOOO many people tell us what a blessing it is to have my sweet husband coach their little boys. Parents who have had kids play last year on another team, even are making comments that Brent has been such a joy to have around, because he does not yell, he does not let his other coaches yell (when possible) and he is such an encouragement to the kids!!! I am really really a very blessed wife to have such a sweet, gentle, Godly man as a husband!! I am truly Blessed!

Finally Video

Here are the videos that I promised. They are of the first play of the game, the warm up and the boys just getting ready! (Really it was more about a lot of loud music and the coaches trying to get all of the boys in the right place at that right time.) I love the first play too. To me, it looks like a bunch of little boys just running! Brent tells me that they are "doing som' hittin." You tell me! (I will have to post the first play on another post.)

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

Brent loves coaching. He (we) have coached 2nd and 3rd grade basketball at church, and 3rd-5th grade baseball at church. Brent really wanted to coach football, so he signed up to coach a local league with the county. Their are 20 boys, 6 coaches (Brent is the head coach) and then one trainer! That's right, I am the trainer!! We really thought this coaching experience would be the same thing as coaching at church! NOT EVEN CLOSE! Today we played a Jamboree game at one of the HIGH School's football field. It was so cute to watch these little boys run out on this BIG field and play. The first play looked good. The second play, one of our little guys ran for a TOUCHDOWN!! We were amazed. The thing was that we had to play the best team in our county today. When their boys came onto the field they looked like GIANTS to our kids. But our boys faced the giants the best they could. Because it was a Jamboree game there were no penalties called so the other team did get two touchdowns on us to beat us 7 - 14. The refs said that if that was a real game, those touch downs would had been called back! We were so proud. God has blessed so much on this team. One of our coaches is in our S.S. class, which Brent recruited and at least one other coach is a Christian. A few of the boys go to our church, and the rest of the team's parents are blown away that Brent coaches but yet has no kids. It was funny after the first week of 2 hour practices for 5 nights in a row, there were mom's that were betting each other that Brent must be some kind of ministers because of his calm personality!! We are having a blast. I have included some cute pictures of our boys getting ready. I keep trying to post a video of their warm up chant, but have not accomplished it yet. I will keep trying. Pray for us as we continue to minister to these sweet boys and that we will be injury free. Additionally pray for us that we will continue to have opportunities to share the love of Jesus.

TAGGED and Not Happy About it!!

I have been "tagged". Thanks, Jen. This is why it has been so long since our post, because I have been putting this off, so here I go. If you find yourself "tagged" like me, here are the rules you must follow...
The Meme Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
The Facts:
1. I have not posted my response to this tagging because we have been out of town on and off since the beginning of July, and I am having a hard time thinking of 8 random facts.

2. Jen says in her blog that she randomly has dreams about people from my past who I haven't spoken to in YEARS. Well, I have people who I have not spoken to for years or don't know really well ask me if I am having a baby. In the last two weeks I have had four people tell me they had dreams about us having a baby!!! Strange!

3. I am currently working on a bunch of sewing projects while I am looking for a new job! (This is what you do when you stay home have no money and no kids!)

4. I am the trainer for a 7 year old football team and had to go to a trainers class last week to learn about how to help kids if they get hurt. THE FUNNY THING is, I hate blood, and get axious when anyone gets hurt!! I am praying for a healthy season, or I will just have to act like I am busy if something happens. My husband went to the same training so if there is an emergency, he will end up taking over!! I WILL BE A SORRY MOM, or the Lord will make my kids loose teeth, break bones and all of that stuff so I will get over this fear!

5. My house burnt down when I was in college and I was forced to live with a family the rest of my time in school. Poor me had my dinners cooked at night, laundry done sometimes and also family around to talk tooo!!! Loosing my house was a great thing to happen if you haven't picked that up.

6. I love my friends! I have friends from elementary school, high school (different city), college, grad school, and GA who I just adore. Jen J, Jen B., Mary, Della, Ashley, Lisa, Katie, Jenny, Jenn, Tammy, Beth, Dana, Karen P- you all know who you are! I am so thankful to God for placing these amazing gals in my life and for giving them the patience to be my friends!

7. We have a dog named Wrigley, named after the Cubs! Neither of us like the Cubs, but my great uncle did and Brent wanted to honor him that way!! Brent also wanted my cousin to name her son Wrigley, I think she thought he was crazy because, his name is now Jack Ryan!! Wrigley is a better name for a dog than a litte boy!

8. My husband is from Texas and went to college and grad school with the Jordans. I am from Maryland and was born in MASS. If and when we have kids they will be from GA!! We are rootless at this point!! (borning facts but this is harder than you think!)

Ok, so here is who is being tagged: Ashley, Beth C, Jen B, Karen P, Rebecca, Nancy, Jennifer M., Della. Get it done, girls! I have faith in you- and no excuses... If I had to do this crazy thing, so do you!

On the GO!

The story of our lives!! It's been a long time since we posted anything, but that is because we have been on the run and fellowshipping with good friends from all over the place. Jenna finished her last day of work on June 29th. It was a lot sadder than expected. The Lord has continued to provide for us and suppy all of our needs. We spent some really great time with friends since the beginning of the month. We left on July 3rd for our annual trip to ETOWAH, TN. This year we even got T-Shirts that claim there is no better place to be than in Etowah! For those of you who have missed out on this awesome place in our great land, it is located in between Chattnooga and Knoxville. We spent time with some of our best friends Shaun and Laura King and there two cuties, Nathan and Jackson. We also got to see Laura' s new shop. The Lord has allowed her to live out her dream of opening a bakery. Two years ago I was able to go to TN and help her with the opening. Since then she has bought a bigger shop and her business has grown to bigger than she could every imagine.

Lil' Somethin Sweet Cakes (Laura's shop)

After TN, we headed up for a very long, I mean, VERY LONG, car ride to MD, we spent a few days there so that we could go to a friends wedding in Richmond, VA. When Jenna was in college, her house burned down. The Buss family allowed me to stay with them, and quickly became a second family to me. Their oldest son David was married to Sarah. We had such a good time. It really gave us a change to meet up with some of our friends from Angier, NC. (After we left NOBTS, Brent did an internship in Raleigh NC at a hospital as a Chaplain) We moved to Angier so that we could be near people we knew so the experience would not be so overwhelming. We lived 3 miles from the Buss family. It was an awesome 8 months for us. Here are few pics from the wedding.

Finally, after our long ride home again... we washed clothes, cleaned the house and one our best friends from seminary, Pete Lukoff came for the week to visit. He and Wrigley fell in love all over again!! While Pete was here, our good friends Malcolm and Dana Philips came to stay for a few days. They have been living in Brazil for the last few months. They are planning to move back again at the end of the summer. It was so great to spend time with them!! Although this has been a very busy time, it sure does make us appreciate the days when we were back in NOBTS!! While Pete and the Philips were here we played a lot of cards and had a lot of late night talks. Again, bringing us back to the good ole' days! Brent and I are planning a trip to New Orleans in August for a mission trip, and as and time gets closer, we get more excited. Brent is looking forward to fishing and spending time with people that we have not seen in a long time! NOBTS, the glory days! Although, when we were there, we could not wait to get out, but now that we are here, we miss being in school again with good friends all around us!

He is Good!

I am starting by claiming what we all already know! God is good all of the time!! I official will be laid off as of Monday morning. It was supposed to be Friday, June 29th, but because our kids are not being turned over to the new agency until Sunday, I have to be on call all weekend!! I am just praying that the Lord will help us with this smooth transition! We are trusting the Lord to provide a new job opportunity for me and soon. I will get paid until August 1st, so I am excited about the month of July to clean my house, finish projects that I have not gotten done and whatever else comes up for me to do before starting a new job! Please continue to pray for me, us, during this time of transition. Again, we know He is good! He always takes care of us. As Brent always says, we never went hungry a day during seminary when we were at our poorest point in life. He provides! The Lord is good all of the time, and all of the time the Lord is good.

A Simple Statement - yet Profound Truth

Finishing up VBS tomorrow . . . and as many of you are probably experiencing or will experience this summer - "Run - run ... run the race...set - set ... set the pace" or my personal favorite "go boy...go girl...all around the world - Let's talk about Jesus...let's talk about all the things He has done..." - you have the songs stuck in your head and find yourself wanting to dance. Ah, yes the theme this year has been "Game Day" - Hebrews 12:1 - with Christ as the ultimate focus.

Is it me, or are the dance moves - harder this year? Probably me - I seem to only begin to figure them out the last day and then still - yeah, look pretty awkard doing so - oh well - has been a blast. I am working with the special needs class again, this year - man, what a special time indeed. Friends ranging in age to various "disabilities" {from down syndrome - autism - as well as a variety of learning disablities} - I say this with hestiation - because the more I am with these special friends - I realize how we are "disabled" more ... with pride, insecurities, masks that we wear and struggle with. Not to say - these precious ones do not struggle either, but they teach us how to love - a love that is so unconditional and out of the box - and have a keen sense of God's love/presence in their lives. We have a had a blast signing, playing some heated games of duck-duck goose, on the playground - making arts/crafts - to some hilarious skits in costume - I will never take simple skits for granted again, they love these!

During one of the songs this week in the rally service, Nick {probably 7 or 8}, grabbed my hand and pulled me toward his mouth and whispered sweetly and gently "God made me". Random comment and timing to say the least. I was so taken back from this simple statement - yet profound truth. The irony in this, is that I shared with Jenna Sunday evening that I was not looking forward to VBS - when she asked me if I was excited. Rather, I felt sort of burdened with the commiment - yet knew I needed to be there and could NOT trust feelings - "do/obey anyway what you are supposed to and the feelings will follow" as I have heard time and time again. As I walked Wrigley later that night after Nick shared - I thought about how busy life seems to be sometimes - in between coaching seasons, work projects/deadlines - activities with people, on and on....desiring to be about ministry in these and while these are well in and of themselves - I was not made for these - I was made by God for God. For His pleasure - for His glory - to KNOW Him. Yet - I thought about the hours I waste watching TV - mainly sports or "projects"... now, in these items that ran through my mind I mentioned - God is certainly in and works through them - yet, I thought I am not enjoying Him as I should - the one "who made me"...Nick seem to understand this and walk in this. Amazing how, I didn't want to even be somewhere...yet went - found myself not focusing on ME {as I do so often}, and in the midst of loud music - wild dance movements - I couldn't keep up with...God drew near and spoke softly...yes, spoke to me through Nick..."I made you...for ME...know ME...love ME...obey ME".

VBS - for me was summed up in this moment. A simple statement - yet profound truth. Refreshed focus...Continuing to run the race - setting my eyes on Him {who created me and is the author/source of my faith}. "Go boy - go-go-go...let's talk about Jesus..."

Bad News - by Jenna

This has been a really really tough week. I have waited as long as I could to post, but I am beginning to realize that I need all of the prayer I can get at this point. This past March I started working full time for a Christian Foster Care Agency as their Director of Intake. The job has been hard, the hours long, the work overwhelming, but... I have loved doing it! It was definatly something I saw myself doing until we started a family. I loved working for the agency because of what they stood for and how each week at our staff meeting we always started with prayer and a devotion. I would pray with my foster parents and really watch the Lord work through the good and hard times in these families lives. I have know that are agency and really the state of GA has been struggling with foster care. The state of GA is having to cut the amount of money we pay our foster parents as well as cut the amount that we bring in to run our agency. Because of this, our agency is no longer able to stay open. As of July 1, we are told that we will be sold to another agency. So this is the tough part. A new agency has not offical bought our agency yet. Also, we have been told that the new agency will not have an obligation to hire us as current staff members. I know in my mind that the Lord is good and in control, but emotionally I am such a mess. We are trusting the Lord that He will take care of us. I know He will. I am tempted to say but... I am sad, hurt, nervous, anxious.. but again He gave me this job! He will provide!! Please pray for us as we are going through this time. We look forward to sharing the miracle the Lord performs in our lives! Pray that I will stay calm and sleep at night! My current boss did a bible study with us recently from Beth Moore and challenged us to put up our "sheilds in time of worry and stress." Your shield is your hand. We say these five things to repesent each finger saying:
God is who He says He is
God will do what He says He will do
I am who God says I am
I can do all things through Christ who give me strength
God's word is alive and active in me!!!

I am claiming this right now and trusting the Lord in all things!

Graduation

I got these pictures from my sister of her graduation weekend. This was my first post but I only had a picture of Wrigley to show for it, so I thought I would add this one just to show my family. The picture has my Brent, ME, Mom, Kara, Dad and my Aunt. My uncle was so kind to take the picture, right after she graduated from grad school with her masters in Special Education. It's been a long road and we are all proud of her and glad she is DONE!!!!!!

Does "one" really make a difference?

This weekend, we had the opportunity to be in the presence of "heroes" - there is much talk in our society about heroes...in the news with troops fighting, in sports, media/movies - Spiderman/Peter Parker - the battle within - will he do the right thing/choices, etc. There is even TV show, entitled - "Heroes". Everyone longs for a hero. The underlining theme - in hero stories is love...a sense of protection or going after something/someone of value. We certainly interacted with heroes, in a true sense, this past weekend - foster care parents. Jenna's company, The Bair Foundation, hosted their annual Foster Care Parents appreciation lunch. Did I say "lunch", or FEAST - rather, come on...In the Cheesecake Factory - hello - leftovers for a week! Not to mention some killer cheesecake.
Among the gift certificates, pins, picture frames, etc. - gifts/expressions of love and appreciation that seem so minimal in comparison to what these folks do - day in and day out - the Lord was present. The theme...the "Starfish Story"{read this story sometime if you have not - very powerful applications/truths at play} ...making the difference one life at a time. I had opportunity to share with the group concerning "heroes"..."Christ the ultimate hero - yet while we were sinners...enemies of the Cross - the Father loved us. Christ was compelled by the Father's love. We see "heroes of faith - Hebrews 11" ... with the focus passage being Luke 15 - an insight into the Father's heart of the value of one...what was lost is now found. In the truest sense, of every believer has experienced "foster care" and been adopted into Christ lineage - the Father's family...a royal priesthood. All of us wounded, hurt, insecure "starfish" longing for the healing water of Life. Had a great time - it is ironic with this theme of "lost and found" - making a difference...I lost Jenna's only pair of eye glasses in the restaurant. Yikes - what was lost is still lost. And now, out $120 for the "new pair" - another loss. So, remaining postive here ... Now, "He/She who has ears to hear and eyes to see {now this excludes Jenna - because her glasses will not be in until next week!} please DO SO" - if you are ever in the Atlanta area...and happen to eat at the Cheesecake Factory {please go to the one in Buckhead though --- we had some parents go to the wrong location} - please ask for a missing pair of eye glasses - because - they have told us...nope, haven't seen them...oh, those in the white bag with the two glue sticks - ummmm, nope - haven't seen them. If you find them, we will "rejoice" collectively together and declare - "it is found!".

Too Fast!

Life has been going at full speed for us. The past week Brent and I have been working hard on a foster parent lunch for my work. I have to work the rest of this month 6 days a week!! It's going to be and has been a very crazy time. I am having a lot of trouble at work and have a long road ahead of me right now. It is such a reminder that I have zero control over my world and life! I have no idea what tomorrow brings. Even with work, it appears like a really bad situation, but for the first time, I feel like I can sort of see a glimps of what God is doing in our lives!! No matter what is thrown at us, He is always in control!! It really gives me comfort to know that because for real... I can't keep up some days!! We continue to pray and desire so much to start a family. Again, in His perfect time.

Speaking of that, does it feel like we spend our lives dusting, washing clothes, washing dishes only to find out that the next day we have to do it again!! Then there's dinner. Enough said. I used to love to clean and cook. Right now, I do good to find matching socks and to remember that we need to eat dinner!! GOD IS GOOD ALL OF THE TIME!!! If I didn't say that, I would go crazy!

Our title

Brent really wanted me to explain the whole reason for the title of this site! I had to laugh because although it is obvious, that I am from Maryland (and MA) and Brent is from Texas, neither of us would always say he is full of Southern Charm! More like Southern Chatter! Regardless, we are the north meets south. One of the first times Brent came to MD to meet my family, we went to DC on the Metro (the subway system). I told Brent the main rule was to not to talk with people while on the train. The first thing he does is start talking to whoever will listen! He is pretty funny that way! So here we are!!! North meets South!!

If Not For Grace

So I started my first full time job since grad school. I was sure the hardest part of this job would be the fact that I would have to get up early, stay late and work each day all day long! I was used to making my own appointments and when I needed a break, I could take one. Although this is hard, the hardest has been working with kids with the past that they have. Hearing the stories of kids and the situations they come from . This week has been the toughest. A girl from our church is in need of a foster home! No because she has done anything wrong, but because of the situations in her life and the choices of other people! At the same time, I am in this training class about training new foster parents. We learned today, in the state of GA, if you eat 4 Hall's cough drops and then were stopped by a police, you could get a DUI. Or parents who loose their jobs and then their home and have to move into a shelter and have their kids taken away because their bills are not paid!! I keep thinking, that God has a plan. A perfect plan. Although, I try to worry, stress, cry and figure out a plan to "fix" these kids, I remember He IS PERFECT!! Just the reminder that anyone one of us could quickly end up in a situation that we could have a tramua in our life, if it not for Grace!! I of course would like to believe I am above any of this, but again, am quickly reminded that in a matter of seconds I could love everything in my life. We recently saw a man in GA who served 20 years (or so) in prision for a crime he did not committ. But again, God is perfect and as long as I continue to serve Him daily, He is always in control of my life! I know this is heavy for a second post, but it has me pretty down and overwhelmed today for sure!

First Post and totally exhausted

This is our very first blog. Jen Jordan came up with the neat idea to stay in touch with several new friends this way. We love it. One thing is always consistent for Brent and I, we are always really really busy. This week is nothing new. Jenna is in another work training/work adventure. We are trying to recoup from a long trip to MD to see Kara, my sister graduate from school. Driving the 12 hours in our car with Wrigley, our 47 1/2 lb puppy reminds us that we need to work harder so we can pay off debt and buy a van. We love getting to spend time in MD. This trip was fast and packed. We both just love to travel more than anything. Brent had to miss one of his baseball games. He coaches along with two other men from our church. They won the game. We are both so proud of the boys. The boys are grades 3-5th grade. We have more games this weekend, and we both can't wait. It is exciting to see them grow on and off the field. We get so excited to watch the boys. We really pray and look forward to the day when possibly the Lord will bless us with children too.

So our random blog has begun. As days and weeks go on, we hope to be able to post some more interesting thoughts.