Give thanks to the Lord....His love endures forever.

It is that time of year again.  Time for turkey and dressing, ham and potatoes, pies and cakes - a time to gorge ourselves and sit around in a euphoric state of food unconsciousness.  Yes, it's Thanksgiving.

Putting aside the historic reasons why we celebrate this holiday, today is a day of togetherness and food.  It is a time where counting our blessings are heightened and we reminisce on the past year and are hopeful for the year to come,

So, as the day has just started for me, I sit here with the Macy's parade on the television and think of how blessed I truly am.  Now, I do not just wait for this day to sit and count on my hands what good things I am thankful for.  I thank God daily for the good things he has bestowed on me.  However, in light of the holiday, I wanted to blog on how good my Heavenly Daddy truly is.

First, I am thankful for God, for real.  Without Him, nothing else matters.  My life before I discovered Christ was empty, void, hurtful and full of torment.  Now it is full of unspeakable happiness.   Not saying it is all puppies and rainbows, but when it gets rough I can lean on Him instead of trying to lean on my own.  Pretty amazing, right?  So yes, God is first and foremost. 

Next, my husband, Matt.  We had such a rough start when we first got together.  Each using one another and not thinking it would last past the first year.  Now, 15 years later - we will be celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary next month.  There are days I look at him and love everything about it.  My heart swells with affection.  Then there are days I wish he would just fall in a hole for a few hours - haha.  But I am thankful for his quirks that annoy me, I am thankful he loves me more than I deserve.  I am thankful he works hard hours (7 days a week/365) for us.   I am thankful he loves God more than he loves me.  I am thankful he is a good dad to not only our daughter but to my son.  I am thankful he still holds true to the values of a gentleman.  I am thankful he is my husband.  I am truly blessed.

Next, I am thankful for my kids.  They are pretty amazing.  My son, being the first born, is a pretty cool teenager.  I am thankful he is such a sweet spirit.  I am thankful he has a big heart.  I am thankful he is a good looking kid and smart and funny.  I am thankful he still loves and respects me and Matt.  I am thankful he loves God.  I am thankful that despite the hardships he had to endure at a young age, he is a good kid and is going to be a great man in a few years.  I am thankful God has trusted me with such an amazing young man.  My daughter, I am thankful she is her own person.  I am thankful she is adorable and smart.  I am thankful she is quirky and funny.  I am thankful that she doesn't care what others think, she is her own person not wanting to fit the mold of society.   I am thankful she loves God and isn't afraid to share her faith.  I am thankful that God has given her me.  

I am thankful for my biological family.  We have been through some unreal moments but through it all we have persevered.  While we don't see each other as much as most families do, it is comforting to know that if I ever need to call on them, they would be there - no questions asked.   I am thankful that I have a strong mom that taught me to stand my ground and not take crap from anyone.  She taught me to stand by my convictions and hold fast to my values.  She is the strongest mom I know.  I am thankful to God for the knowledge that my dad is in heaven and I will see him again.   My dad loved Thanksgiving - so he is on my mind today more than other days.  It isn't a saddened thought (though those creep in here and there) but it is memories of adoration.  He was a great guy and I am thankful that I was allowed to have him for 17 years of my life.  

I am thankful for my church family.  I love those people as if I were born into them.  They love me and my family immensely.  I never knew I could love others unconditionally  These people have been there through the highs and lows of the past few years of my life.  They have helped when they saw the need and they have been there when I needed to just vent.  They are special people and they hold a large part of my heart.  I am so thankful God drew me to them.

I am thankful for my youth group.  I am humble that God would allow me and Matt to be in these kids' lives at a time when they are the most impressionable.  I am humble that God entrusts me with such a big responsibility.  I never knew I could love other people's kids like I do them.  I share in their joys and their failures.  I laugh when them, have cried with them and have gotten frustrated with them.  I have poured out and exhausted myself to mentor them.  I take my position seriously and pray daily that I do it in a way that is pleasing to God.

So love your family today.  Put aside differences.  Laugh much.  Eat a lot.  Soak in the holiday love....and don't get killed if you go out tomorrow for Black Friday (you are all crazy!).

What if you had awakened this morning with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?

Army buddies to share the trenches with.....



I obviously didn't realize we were taking pictures or else I would have looked more presentable - haha!


Matt and I are in a discipleship program called "The Cadre" with world known coaching leader, Jeanne Mayo (affectionately known as "mom").  This week was our first retreat to meet with the other youth pastors in the program.  Many have asked how it was and many want to know details so this blog could be lengthy.  However, no matter how much I describe nothing can really put it into words.

We flew down there on Sunday which we are not avid fliers.  This was only our second time flying and it had been ten years prior.  Even though I hate flying and think it is the most unnatural thing in the world....it was okay.  It blows my mind how something that takes ten hours to drive only took one hour to fly.  It also amazes me how so many people put their trust in a tin can and two pilots but find it hard to put their trust in God.  But, that's a different topic altogether.

Once we landed, we had two young ladies from Jeanne's Master Commission greet us with warm smiles and friendly demeanor.  They took us to the hotel and we had some down time.  There was a set up meeting for dinner for anyone wanting to hang out and get to know one another and quite frankly we didn't want to go.  Matt had only had one hour of sleep and I was tired but we knew we would miss some important socialization if we didn't go.  Therefore we went.  We are glad we did.  We went to this little deli and many other Cadre were there and bonds were already forming.  For someone like me, a quiet observer, it was a little intimidating.  For Matt, he was in his element - chatting to whomever would listen.  It didn't take long for people to bond with each other and share one another's stories.  Not to mention I had a baked potato the size of a gopher.  The sucker was huge.




Yeah, I didn't finish it all.



The next day, we were picked up for out first day at Jeanne's house at 8:30am (don't they know we are in youth ministry?!  We don't function until noon! haha).  It was exciting because we had no idea what to expect but we knew it was going to be good.  We got the red carpet treatment - literally. The red carpet was rolled out and we were cheered for and greeted with smiles.  Given a gift bag of goodies, we met Jeannie and her amazing husband, Sam and were directed to a smorgasbord of delicacies for the morning.  As we mingled and the noise became a low roar of chatter and laughter, we then settled down for instruction. The day consisted of Iron Groups (small groups where we discussed what we heard that day and shared our hearts), amazing food, inspiring words from Jeanne, great prayer and breaking of bread and the fellowship was unreal.  Life-long bonds were built that day.

After getting back to the hotel around 11pm and crashing, sleep wasn't the easiest to come by but soon 8:00 am came and we were off for day 2.  I was sick this day, go figure....but I wasn't going to let it stop my from experiencing all I could.

Again, gifts were lavished upon us and we got to hear Jeanne's heart as well as get into our Iron Groups (whom we have an email for so we can encourage one another).  After lunch and fellowship, we got to go on a field trip that was only entitled "Dream".  No one knew where we were going but knew it was 3.5 hours long.  I whispered to Matt - "Martin Luther King?"  I was not prepared for the effect the next few hours would have on my spirit.

Now, this part and most of the Cadre is suppose to be a secret because they have a second one in a few weeks.  So never fear Jeanne and Cadre Axiom!  This blog is private and only my friends can read it! 

We were dropped off at an old firehouse that was an historical site.  And went upstairs to see an older gentleman sitting behind a podium. As we sat down and he was introduced, he slowly took his place with cane in hand and began to speak.  His words completely pulled me into his world.  He spoke of how he has been a Reverend for 61 years - 61 years!  While that is impressive, what he began to unravel before us was a story of sacrifice and determination.  He is the oldest living black man that marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  He was part of the movement that changed history.  Now, I know who MLK is, of course.  But I never really gave it much thought because I only thought it effected the black community (yes, that is a close minded statement, but it is truly how I felt).  After hearing this man tell his tale and hearing of the death and torment that people had to go through because of the color of their skin was heart-wrenching.  To hear this man tell of the 'washcloth, toothbrush and dime' and to tell of how when he kissed his children and wife good-bye it could have been the last time.  To hear the tremble in his voice and see the anguish in his face as he relived those moments many years ago.  To say Reverend Williams rocked my world - that's an understatement.

After that we went to the MKL museum and reading and watching the news clips was just blowing my mind.  Now, you may be wondering why on earth we went there.  Well, MLK had a dream from the age of 6.  He had a vision, a goal, to change the world for not just the black community but for humanity in general.  Therefore, we got to ponder it all and write down 3 goals for our personal life and our ministry - achievable goals.  If one little boy can have a vision to change the world, then so can I.  We were given a memento of the "I Have a Dream" speech with a tag that said Galatians 6:9 - I love this verse.  If any of you know me, it is my signature for my phone and has been for awhile now.  It gives me hope.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

The plaque for The Eternal Flame

Eternal Flame by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's memorial site.

Where Dr. King and his wife rests.

So on the way back, the bus was buzzing with chatter and what we returned to was mind-blowing.  Jeanne is full of surprises.  That lady knows how to throw a party!  Her entire living room was decorated and set up like a banquet hall.  Everyone in white shirt, black pant attire and the tables beautifully decorated.  It was utterly breath-taking.  The meal was great, the fellowship greater.  The room was so loud with conversation it was like a roaring waterfall.  It was great.

Just a glimpse of her living room from where I was seated during the dinner.

As we were there for the 2 days, we didn't lift a finger.  Her master's commission kids were there to get our drinks, take our plates, make sure our drinks were always full, to talk to us when it seemed we were sitting alone.  I like to be alone sometimes and just people watch - I couldn't do that here.  As soon as I separated myself from the group, kids found me and demanded my attention.  haha.

One thing I came away with was the reminder how awesome our youth group is.  I heard from several people how their youth group won't interact with them (our youth won't leave us alone!), how most in their youth group won't speak up (ours won't be quiet!), how small groups work great (ours is a small group and I cannot imagine splitting them up into separate groups!), how they never get along (ours are each other's friends not just inside the walls but outside as well), how they are never appreciated (we have no doubt of the appreciation our group has for us), no one supports them (we have an amazing church that stands behind all we do), the pastor has no involvement (our pastor loves our group and encourages everything we do)......I am not saying our youth group is PERFECT but I have to say it is pretty amazing and unique.  I cannot wait to experience more of the Cadre to implement even more of what I have learned.  Matt and I are already jotting ideas down to start implementing at the first of the year - to make a great youth group even better!

Have you seen a better group?  I think not!  :-)

So to those that have supported us thus far in our adventure - THANK YOU!  You have made it possible for Matt and I to do this together, not for our own agenda but for the youth of the area and in turn, for the church.  Again, thank you.  This year will forever change us and our ministry for the better.