Join me tomorrow as I send red envelopes to President Barack Obama.I found out about this event from my friend Sarah over Facebook. It's a LARGE group of people who feel that abortion is wrong, getting together to show the president that we are not the minority, that we have a voice and we are going to use it! Red Envelope Day is an event where on March 31 everyone who opposes abortion and wants to let President Obama know about it will send a Red envelope addressed to:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington , D.C. 20500
On the back you should write:
"This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion. It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world."
I am Pro Life and feel that every child should be given a chance. I know that tomorrow as the white house mail room is flooded with Red Envelopes God will smile with joy, that His people were not afraid to stand up against this injustice. Stand with me tomorrow and send in your red envelopes!
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully
made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139: 13-14
He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor. Psalm 72:4
Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Psalm 127:3
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Psalm 127:4
Youth group started out with a game of spoons tonight. When i was a teenager I used to play spoons all the time in the youth group i was attending. So as we played sweet memories filled my mind, of old friends and good times. It funny how certain things can bring back memories. I loved youth group so much as a teenager, and i am beyond blessed to be an adult working in a youth group. And now i get to make new memories with the teenagers i work with.
Tonight was our ninth week in the book of Ecclesiastes. Tonight's study really based on enjoying life now, and being content with what you have. Each and every week the kids impress me, they have such good thoughts and ideas about the scripture that we are reading, they also come up with some great questions. We also had some time to reflected on our recent March Retreat. The kids had a lot to say and really enjoyed the weekend over all. They also had a lot of ideas for what we should do at our Teen Camp this summer.
I love hanging out with my youth group kids. They are just a great group of teens and we have so much fun together. Tonight we had a Youth Event at our local Ice Skating Rink the Iceoplex. Last year was the first time we ever did a ice skating event. The kids liked it so much that we had to do it again. I've really only been ice skating a few times, but i love it. It's a great work out and i think it's the closest to feeling like you're flying with out being in the air. hehe! I also enjoyed getting to talk one on one with each of the kids. I tried to make sure i skated at least one lap with each of them. We talked about college and what's been going on in their lives. Who would have thought the ice skating could be such a good time to talk, but it was.
It was a great event with a ton of kids. So far every event we have had this year has been a large turn out. It's so much fun when the regular attending kids bring their friends to events. All in all a great turn out and a amazing event. I hope you had a fun Friday night!
Today Sienna and I went to the duck park to hang out with all her friends from school. We all met up at the lake and spent some time feeding the ducks. Sienna enjoyed watching the birds much more the feeding them. I don't know why, but she just didn't want to give the birds the bird seed. hehe! After the ducks were good and fed we all walked around the lake and up to the play ground. Sienna so loved climbing and going down slides. This by far was her favorite part of the day. She played on the swings climbed up high on the play equipment and went down the BIG slide. Sienna so loved getting to see her little friends outside of school and really enjoyed her time with them.
When I was a little girl my mom used to read to me and my sisters. Ever since then I have had a deep love for the written word. It was also through reading out loud that i was able to correct my speech impediment. So books have played a big part of my life. Going to a book store or the library is one of my most favorite things to do in life. My mom used to work at a book store and also had a deep love for books. We almost weekly make a trip to the library and we bring Sienna with us. My local library has a used book store inside of it. I LOVE this little book store. There is always different books and I can spend hours just sitting and looking through all the books. However my favorite isle by far is the children books isle. Even before Sienna was born i loved chidlren's books. I had a very large collection started because I was a preschool teacher for four years.
Well every time we go to the library's book store I find some amazing books for Sienna. This as also become a favorite trip for Sienna. She loves sitting on a stool and looking through the books. Sienna, my mom and I can spend the entire day there. It is so wonderful how we all share a passions for books! Today I was able to buy nine books for less then $5! How cool is that?! Very cool. I also find great gifts for friends and family there. This is a cheap and easy trip to take your children on, and you can start to grow thier love of books, what a amazing gift you can give you kids if you teach them to love books! So take some time and check out your local library, you never know what treasures you might find.
Every night when i start making dinner Sienna brings her stool over to the counter and helps. Ever since she was able to sit up she has loved being in the kitchen with me. She is now really starting to be a good helper. She can stir with out spilling and help pour ingredients into a bowl. Even when we aren't cooking she loves to play in her little pretend kitchen. She makes all kinds of things and has little tea parties with her stuffed animals, or brings food into the living room to "feed" Daniel and I. Play cooking was one of my most favorite things when i was little. My sister Cameo and I would spend hours playing outside in the mud making all kinds of things. And once we were a little older we would play restaurant in the house with real food. I even remember many times playing cooking show as well. Cameo and I had so much fun playing with play food, that it's so great to see how much Sienna enjoyed it now. I truly think that it was my love of playing with food, that has made me enjoy cooking as a adult. I love cooking with Sienna and look forward to many many years of spend time together in the kitchen.
I have been working in our Youth Group at the Chatsworth Lake Community Church for five years now. Daniel and I do everything from planning events, teaching lessons to attending the kids school events. These teenagers are a big part of our lives. There is nothing I wouldn't do for them. I have a passion for teenagers and telling them about Jesus Christ. Well last night after a long time of waiting, Daniel and I received out Christian Workers Card. It's a card that we can keep with us as proof that we work at our church as well as identification in cases of emergency if anything were to happen to any of our youth group kids. It also helps in letting us have verification in hospitals and jails when other people can't get in. However in the 7 years Daniel and I have worked at various youth groups we have never had occasion to need to visit someone in jail or the hospital, but now we can. hehe!
My heart is on fire for youth ministry, so this card isn't just a little piece of paper, it's validation of years of hard work. I was once asked by a pastor, if i really believed that a teenager could have a deep personal relationship with Christ. I told him right then and there that I wouldn't be working in youth ministries if i didn't believe that. My heart broke when I heard him ask me that, because i saw in his eye's that he really didn't believe that teenagers could experience Christ. The world has pushed this idea on to us that teenagers are not worth fighting for. And I have one thing to tell the world, I AM FIGHTING FOR THEM! If we don't invest in the next generation then there won't be anymore churches. Christianity is just one generation away from being forgotten. Even though i don't get paid for what i do in our Youth Group, I see this as being my most important job (behind being a parent). I want to thank the Advent Christian Conference of Southern California for acknowledging my work and for pushing me to be the person that God meant me to be!
Today was the first Saturday in over six weeks that we got to all be together as a family. We have been so busy the past month or so and really haven't had a weekend free for just us. It felt so good to sleep in and enjoy the day with the two people I love most in the world. After a lazy morning spent in PJ's we went out to lunch at The Munch Box, a place Daniel and I used to go to before we got married and moved away. But we made the drive out to the Valley to enjoy the best chili cheese burgers in the world! I'm not kidding, it is my favorite guilty pleasure, we almost never get to eat there anymore, but it's worth the calories.
"Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place." Proverbs 28:2
"I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands." Psalm 63:4
This past week has been really rough on me. It just seems like i can't do anything right and that everything seems to be happening all at once. But it's in those rough times that i see the Lord the most. I feel closer to Him and am more willing to listen to His still quite voice. Today I was able to be out in nature and be with my family. It was in these moments today that God filled me with His peace and gave my spirit rest.
When I saw this majestic old oak tree I just had to photograph it. It wasn't until I got home and started editing it that i fell in love with this photo. It was a dark and cloudy day for the most part. However this tree still stood, tall and true, stretching its arms to heaven. I want to be that strong oak, praising God no matter what the day brings.
Thank you Lord for reminding me that You are always there no matter what the circumstances.
This evening I had the honor of attending a baby shower for my friend Donna to welcome her new daughter Eden into the world. I have been friends with Donna for years and have very much enjoyed watching her fall in love with her wonderful husband Scot, get married and now having the family she has always wanted. She has two little boys who are so cute! But now she has her little girl! It has a been a blessing to know Donna and her family! Also Donna was my midwife, when Sienna was born. She was so wonderful through the whole pregnancy and birth. I am beyond bless to have her as a friend.
Tonight was the baby shower for Eden Rose. The house seemed full to the brim with women, food, and love. We spent the evening eating yummy desserts and showering Donna with love. I helped by bringing chocolate dipped strawberries, i think i ate most of them! hehe! Also I got to enjoy some time with Donna's sister's Noel and Jane earlier in the evening when they were setting everything up. OH! One funny thing happened at the shower. I met a friend of my sisters, Rebecca. Rebecca had gone to college with my little sister Cameo in New York, and she knew Donna. It's such a small world! Rebecca and I enjoyed talking for most of the night.
Donna, it is my prayer that the Lord blesses you and your family in every way. You are an amazing women who deserves the joy that fills your life!
