Quotes for the day...

“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.” -Alan Cohen

"Easy things don’t hold nearly the potential as doing hard things." - Jonathan Cliff

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Thought for the day

Thank you 320 Sycamore! Love this.
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Quote of the afternoon

“A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed it’s the only things that ever has.” Margaret Mead

Day 459-466: 2nd Pres Ski Trip. I learned to Ski

I get to spend most days with the sleepers, crawlers, walkers, runners, readers, and cool kids (aka the birth thru 5th graders at our church). But this past week, I joined our youth on their ski trip, as Brad and I found ourselves on our first ministry trip together.
It is not a new thing. Our church has been doing it for 29 years. For longer than I have been able to walk, 2nd Pres has been taking high school kids skiing. Brad and I have been praying for this trip for months and we had a great time.
I learned to ski and so much more. Here are some highlights of our trip:
Fact: If you drive a bus for 24+ hours, it will break down.
Fact: When learning to ski, it is critical to first learn how to stand up if you fall over.
Fact: You don't have to be so afraid of going fast. Let the slope naturally slow you down. (This is true in skiing and in life.)
Fact: 20 below = COLD. Yes, 20 degrees below zero.
Fact: There is never anything you can or will ever do that will make God love you any more, or any less. Nothing.
Fact: Inside jokes never get old.
Fact: The Cross of Christ is were the human story insects with the Holy one.
Fact: "When you are old, it doesn't matter how much money you have. It matters how many stories you have to tell." - The Big Hoohah
Fact: Those who are significant live for God.
Fact: We all need revelation, repentance, resistance, and relationship.
Fact: "Ohana Means Family, Family Means No One Gets Left Behind." - Janette, Tiffany, and Lilo
Fact: The more we know about who we are, the more we can understand about who God is. And vice versa.
Fact: I skied a BLUE!

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Day 452-8: I celebrate

This is my prayer...far beyond Christmas, well into 2011.

With this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let you know
How much you've touched my life because
Here is where you're finding me
In the exact same place as New Years Eve
And from the lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I wanna be

And the first time that you opened your eyes
Did you realise that you would be my Saviour
And the first breath that left your lips
Did you know that it would change this world forever
And the first time that you opened your eyes
Did you realise that you would be my Saviour
And the first breath that left your lips
Did you know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare
The things I've felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That you have come to meet me here

To look back
And think that
This baby would one day save me
And the hope that
That you give
That you were born so I might really live
To look back
And think that
This baby would one day save me…

And the first time that you opened your eyes
Did you realise that you would be my Saviour
And the first breath that left your lips
Did you know that it would change this world forever
And the first time that you opened your eyes
Did you realise that you would be my Saviour
And the first breath that left your lips
Did you know that it would change this world forever

And I
I celebrate the day
That you were born to die
So I could one day
Pray for you to save my life
Pray for you to save my life
Pray for you to save my life

- Relient K

Quote of the Season

"There is not a square inch
in the whole domain of our human existence
over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all,
does not cry: 'Mine!'"
- Abraham Kuyper

With all the wonderful things of this year and this Christmas, I feel like I have it all. But it is His. I am reminded that our Lord is the center of the story. And He loves me so much, that he invites me in.

Quote of the Day

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.
- Joshua 1:9

Thanks Rachael

Afternoon quote

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties" - Erich Fromm

Thanks again LB!

Quote of the afternoon

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be” -George Sheehan

Thanks LB...again

Quote of the morning

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
-Marianne Williamson

Thanks LB

Quote of the Morning...

Maybe God isn't holding up a perfect picture. Maybe God is writing a bigger story. - Carey Nieuwhof

This reminds me of one of my all time favorite quotes:
You don't have to be perfect. Especially on Wednesdays. - my brother

Another quote for the Day

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” ― Thornton Wilder

Afternoon quote

“To love deeply in one direction makes us more loving in all others.” ― Anne-Sophie Swetchine

Day 265: Hero Headquarters

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's VBS at 2nd Pres!
Soaring through this week, it's Vacation Bible School! Our theme is "Hero Headquarters."
175 kids, 100 youth and adult volunteers, excellent church decorations, 2 awesome chairs, and tons, tons, tons of prayers for an amazing week.
May kids lives be impacted.
May volunteers be blessed by their experience.
May the Lord's will be done at "Hero Headquarters!"

Don't forget - Mission Reminders. Bring these items to VBS each day!
Monday: Boxes of Tissue
Tuesday: Hand Sanitizer
Wednesday: Crayons
Thursday: Gallon Zip Lock Bags

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. - I Timothy 4:12

CHECK OUT WWW.2NDPRES.ORG FOR A DAILY SLIDESHOW! (Source)

Day 263: Father's Day and my Dad

There are not enough words, time, or emotion in the world for my to tell you in a blog post ow much my dad means to me. He is wonderful. Wonderful.

Wonderful.

When I was in college, I read Margaret Fuller's the great lawsuit. Her description of Miranda's father reminded me so much of my father, that I gave him a copy of the portion of the text. It included:

"In so far as he possessed the keys to the wonders of this universe, he allowed free use of them to her, and by the incentive of a high expectation he forbade, as far as possible, that she should let the privilege lie idle. "

Now, that I am getting married, other words are also coming to mind. The words of songs and the ever present question: What will be dance to?!?
Here are the final pics:

Isn't she lovely
Isn't she wonderful
Isn't she precious
Less than one minute old
I never thought through love we'd be
Making one as lovely as she
But isn't she lovely made from love
Isn't she pretty
Truly the angel's best
Boy, I'm so happy
We have been heaven blessed
I can't believe what God has done
Through us he's given life to one
But isn't she lovely made from love
Isn't she lovely
Life and love are the same
Life is Aisha
The meaning of her name
Londie, it could have not been done
Without you who conceived the one
That's so very lovely made from love
- Steve Wonder, "Isn't She Lovely"


I believe the light that shines on you
Will shine on you forever
And though I can't guarantee
There's nothing scary hiding under your bed
I’m gonna stand guard
Like a postcard of a Golden Retriever
And never leave till I leave you
With a sweet dream in your head

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
That loved his daughter more than I love you.
- Father and Daughter, Paul Simon

James Taylor and the Beatles are also in the rolling. Find out July 10, around 8:30pm!

Day 259: Ephesians

This summer, I have been reading through the book of Ephesians with a group of girls. It is so good and the Lord is teaching me in so many ways. I know I am going to look back on this time of life and see how much the Lord taught me so, so much in this season...
In the meantime, as I begin to see all the lessons, here is the scripture that is guiding my heart.

“...I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1b-3 NIV

Quote of the Day

“If you wait to do everything until you’re sure it’s right, you’ll probably never do much of anything.”
― Win Borden

From Real Simple

Quote of the Day

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:10

Wow, God's workmanship. I am making a scrapbook and I am so obsessed with it. How does the Lord feel about me, if He made me?

Morning Quote

Whenever our right becomes the guiding factor of our lives, it dulls our spiritual insight. The greatest enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but good choices which are not quite good enough. - my friend's devotion she read this morning

Friday Morning Quote

“Behind every successful woman...is a substantial amount of coffee.”― Stephanie Piro

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