a new week

(1) i had a great weekend. we had a lot going on at church and i still felt like i saw my kids a lot too. amanda was under the weather and trying to rest some, so i stepped in and pulled extra duty. scott estep was officially installed as our pastor, thanks to Wayne and Kathy Benson joining us on Sunday for that. the young adult married couples gathered for a cook-out at our place Sat. we had an amazing game of corn hole. it was like X-treme Corn Hole because of the wind. my team emerged victorious. the men's breakfast sat morning had about 90 guys. scott challenged every man to look at his work as a mission field. instead of the 10/40 window, we have the 9 to 5 window.

(2) sunday was a pivotal day in XLR8. for the first time under my leadership, a student spoke during School of the Bible hour. Emma Wilkerson shared with her peers some of what God has been teaching her over the past several weeks. she challenged them to live for God right now and to make a difference. she said, "we pray for opportunities at school to share Christ, but instead of waiting for them to fall in our lap, we should initiate them. go up to someone and tell them about the hope we have in Jesus." i was so proud to hear her sharing. another student told Jeremiah (teacher) that students should speak every Sunday, so Jeremiah told him to be ready to speak next week. i love it!

(3) my 2 yr old, Kaitie, is an amazing kid. she is our loud one. she is our bruiser. she has passion for life that i have not seen before. i love being with her. this weekend we had some fun moments. she likes to take the cushions off the couch and jump on the frame. weird! she also likes to put a hamster on the couch frame and watch it run around. well . . . the hamster previously known as milkshake (jk), found her way into the guts of the couch and we haven't seen her since about 4:45pm Sunday. never a dull moment. Milkshake . . . where are you?

(4) some of you have been wondering what is going on with my fitness program. why haven't i blogged about running lately? well, in order to blog about running, you have to be running. o well, i have the desire to get in shape and run consistently, but i have 2 major issues. #1 - amanda is not much of a morning person. she likes to sleep as long as possible. so, my morning running time often gets displaced by taking care of the kids if they wake up early. i don't mind, because i love starting the day early. #2 - my knees have been hurting a lot lately. i know it sounds lame, but when i hit 3 miles or so, i start to feel it. my sister, a licensed MD told me to take it easy. i have to listen to the DR. o well, maybe one day, i will get in shape!

(5) in light of Mother's Day, which has come and gone, and my mom's Birthday being today, i wanted to share some special memories about my Mom. Happy B-day mom!
*my mom is very caring and patient. she rarely raised her voice to us kids growing up. i don't know how she did it b/c i barely have a day when i don't raise my voice with my kids. it must be b/c i was such an angel.
*my mom has this upper lip thing that is so cute when she laughs. if you really get her going on something, look at her top lip, it'll make you laugh more.
*i used to love staying home from school sick as a kid. staying home = going to the dr. and then to McDonalds for lunch. of course, i'd have to take a nap if i stayed home. and what was up with the vacuum while i was trying to nap, mom? you couldn't wait till i woke up?
*my mom loves beach vacations! i love beach vacations. therefore, i love my mom! thanks, mom, for getting dad to spend all his money so we could enjoy some pretty sweet vacations growing up!
*my mom is so generous. she gives to so many people. she has blessed my family so much over the past 8/9 years. i believe she has the spiritual gift of giving. i believe God has blessed her and my dad because they understand that what they have is from God and they should give it when He tells them to give it.
*my mom has a disease called lupus. her joints can be pretty weak and she tends to get sick a lot. we joke that since she is sick so much, she will probably outlive all of us. she pushes through a great amount of pain and keeps trucking along. i am proud of her for that. i have never once heard her question God. what a lesson for me to learn! please pray that God cures her of lupus and gives my mother an extended period of great health!

well, that is a glimpse of my mother, if you haven't met her yet, your loss! i hope you can all spend time with her one day! Happy 60th B-day mom! (jk) i think she turned 35 today.

peace