Guatemala ....... Again!

Hello Family & Friends,
                We have been praying about what ‘missions’ looks like in our life. We've seen God direct us and we just can't wait to follow up our last letter with this one ... our most current plans. Please know that you are someone special to us and we are thankful for your presence in our life. We hope that you will be encouraged by our story. We also want you to know that your prayers and giving to our last trip allowed us to fully step into this part of God's plan for our life. We aren't asking for money this time, we aren't asking for supplies or advice. This time we are simply asking for prayer. Please read our story, be encouraged by our thankfulness of you in our life, and pray for us. Thank you in advance!

We've made a lot of changes in our life over the past couple years and are SO very thankful for God's direction, provision and guidance.  You might remember when we first decided to go to Guatemala back in 2011. At that point we felt God stirring our hearts for something coming. We prayed about family, about our jobs, and about missions. Well, after the trip, we knew that Guatemala was part of our plan, but not the whole answer. We didn't pack up and move, but we did fall in love with the country and the people. Fast forward three months and Kristen had anew job! God took his time preparing our hearts, stirring us to feel the change coming, allowing us to experience a third world country, and directing us in His perfect will. Turns out our permanent answer to the stirring we felt was her career change, and missions was an amazing thing we got to experience! 

     You might be thinking that it's great that we found a direction for our life, but we want you to know that we are still in the change phase. In fact, we think that we'll always be in some kind of change phase. As soon as we get idle and comfortable, we'll forget the dire need we have for our Savior to lead and guide our lives. We pray that you can understand that feeling and be comfortable with it as well. Change is not always easy or what we'd choose, but we have come to embrace it joyfully. We aren't always excited about it (and sometimes we go kicking and screaming), but we've learned that all of the changes in our life that were directed by God were much better than anything we had planned for ourselves. With that said, we've stayed completely open to having missions be a regular part of our life. David said just a few months ago, "I really have a heart for the Central American people. I feel like God can use me there and I'm ready to go back." Kristen got the chance to go on a short trip in September with FBC’s missions coordinator to make plans.

So, we are now, officially, Team Leaders. What does that mean? It means that we are going to be taking teams to Guatemala. It means that we have committed to FBC's missions and to working with our church's partnerships in Guatemala. It means that God's plan is still being worked out in our life. It means that even though we aren't planning on packing up and moving, we'll be actively involved. We’ll take our first team in March. Our church partners with two missionaries down there who have identified a village, named Chanco, for us to work. There is only one family of Christians. One family ... in the whole village ... sad! So, with the work of a couple local churches we are going to tell the people about Jesus. The last time we went, we talked to people that had never heard the name Jesus. NEVER! 

Will you pray? Again, we don't need you to send us money for our trip, we don't need any supplies, and we don't even need any advice. We know that this is where God has us. We know that He is good and His work is worth it! We know that the Bible tells us to "Go and make disciples of all nations." Matthew 28:19. We also know that the Bible promises the work, though difficult, will not be in vain. Revelation 7:9 says this about the end of time: "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne." All that's left is for us to go. We will need prayer and here's a list of things you can pray for: Pray for the people to be open to what we're going to tell them. Pray for our safety (last year, a man was killed because he became a Christian). Pray for God to move in a mighty way in this village and in the country of Guatemala. Pray for the pastors we will work with in Guatemala, that they will have courage to go into villages that are hostile toward them. Pray for their health.

We know this is a longer letter than normal (the most you probably get from us is a Christmas card or a thank you note, haha!), but we appreciate you, we covet your prayers, and we wanted to share with you!

With Love,

Kristen & David Patrick

" Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest...' " 

Matthew 9:37-38

Wide Awake at 2:24

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. Mark 1:35

So, at 2:24 this morning I woke up. I mean wide awake and ready to face the day. I tried to turn over and was greeted by a little snoring from the hubs. When I turned back over I heard a still small voice "very early, Jesus got up."

My mind immediately went here:  Seriously? at 2:30 Jesus got up? Doesn't that verse mean he got up around 5:00 just before sunrise?

Nope. At least not for me.

Fast forward, it's now 4am and I'm sitting on my couch (so that I don't wake the snoring hubs) with a little toothless dog curled up next to me. More on the toothless drama later (it really could be a Lifetime movie). Anyway, I'm up, I'm dressed, and I'm ready to start a day that isn't supposed to get going for another six hours. What now God? 

Talk to me.           Pray.
Listen to me.        Seek His face.
Learn.                   Read Scripture.

Wow, in the middle of the night (by most people's standards) I'm having a moment with God. In case you're thinking that I'm crazy or that you'd never do this, please know that this isn't the norm for me either. I think, though, that sometimes God takes drastic measures to get our attention. I also believe that His ways are perfect. So, crazy as it may seem, I'm up and I'm listening. He got my attention and I'm excited to hear what He wants me to learn. It must be is surely important if He woke me up this early. In fact, this excites me a little ... knowing that my Father in Heaven loves me enough to intentionally work in my little world to orchestrate individual time with me! What a great God with amazing Love!

While focusing hard on doing all of the above, I decided to "google" Mark 1:35. I read it alone and in context. The first chapter of Mark is a nice quick picture of the beginnings of Jesus' ministry. It speaks of John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus, Jesus' baptism, Jesus calling disciples (followers), some miraculous things Jesus did, and a little on his preaching. Verse 35 speaks of what he did before he went to preach & teach in Galilee. Scripture is SO GOOD! Still though, after re-reading and praying for a while I felt the need to keep searching. I went here and searched Mark 1:35.

Boom.

"First Things First: Making the Most of Your Morning" by David Mathis. This blog hit home, and it hit hard. What have I been doing with my mornings lately? I've always been an "early to bed, early to rise..." kind of person. (ask my sleeping hubs) It's like I have this internal clock that says "it's dark outside, go to bed!" And, when you go to bed early, you naturally wake up early. My parents said I was an easy baby ... I slept well. When I was teaching, it made me more energetic in the classroom to get up during the 4:00 hour to prepare for the school day. So, why have I been wasting my mornings lately? Truth is, I don't really know the answer to that. I could give you all kinds of great reasons, great answers, and great excuses, but the bottom line is I don't know. I guess I've fallen from my norm into a somewhat lazy & unproductive rut with my mornings. Harsh actions deserve harsh explanations. I don't like to think of myself as lazy (who does?) but if the shoe fits ...

Anyway, back to the blog I read. This man writes about how important it is to feed the inner man. On the surface, that sounds weird, but digging in, it really makes sense! Jesus spoke about living water that is all sufficient. He spoke of never thirsting again. He explained that if we seek Him we will never hunger or thirst again. Go read John 6:35! Generally people start their day with breakfast - food for our body. If we don't make breakfast a regular meal, usually there's a lunch or dinner happening at some point in the day. We need food to sustain us physically. Well, spiritually we need food too! We know this because Jesus told us ... how awesome is it that our God came down to Earth to live a perfect life and teach us all we need to know all the while performing miracles in order to defeat death by the time he left?!?!

Here's what I learned this morning (before 4am!): I've been physically feeding myself and only going through the motions spiritually. It reminds me of children pretending to eat play food. You know when a child brings you a plastic apple or a teacup from a tea set you pretend to eat & drink? Usually you say, Yummy, knowing that it's all just fake. Problem is, that isn't actually satisfying. It looks right, your mouth is making the right munching & slurping motions, but there isn't anything actually going in. This morning, I realized that my inner Kristen, was saying "Feed Me!" I've been starving my inner self and the Lord, in His loving and faithful way brought me back to Himself. He doesn't want me to pretend to eat play food. He wants me to read His word, to talk with Him and to learn. He wants me to take in what He has to give. He woke me up this morning to reset my clock (sorry David ... my recent late nights might be over!). He reminded me just how good his nourishment tastes.

And just in case you're wondering ... it's SO delicious!

Whisk you ...

For our neighbors this Christmas, we sent them a Pinterest original ... "We Whisk You a Merry 'Kiss'mas!" I got the gift tag here. The pictures below show what I did ... step by step!

Christmas Crafty Fun!

This year I decided to make gifts for the volunteers that work in the preschool & elementary ministries at our church. I also decided to make a gift for the preschoolers (I ordered a magnet & candy for the elementary kids - candy never goes wrong!) It was so much fun! Also, in order to give credit where credit is due ... I found the M&M poem here and the Tic-Tac covers here.

Adoption

We don't now who our son or daughter will be.

We don't know how in the world we are going to do this.

We don't know why God has put this on our heart so strongly.

We don't know when we will start this process.

We don't know where he or she will come from.

We do know that this is God's plan for our life.

We do know that God's plans are perfect..

We do know that He will be with us to guide our steps.

We do know that we will need your prayers.

We do know that we already love our child.

"To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."

John 1:12

Forever And Ever Amen

the song below (way below) was sung and made famous by randy travis.

even though it's really meant to be a love song, it's special to me

it was the first song i learned the words to
it is one of my earliest memories with my daddy
it is what i remember singing in his blazer, singing in his green bass boat
it has a soothing effect on me the way songs do when they stir up old memories
it was the song we danced to on the night I got married ... me and daddy
it speaks of "forever and ever" ... what I'm looking forward to in eternity with Jesus (again, not the original intent of the song as it's written, but hey ... these are just my out of context attachments!)

I'm feeling especially nostalgic today ... maybe because it's Christmastime, maybe because it's bee a couple weeks since both of my grandmothers went to Heaven, maybe simply because this song played on my Pandora station earlier. Whatever the reason, when it played I was flooded with emotion. Emotion that I can't quite put into words. Lots of things are going to be different this year at Christmas for my family.

events
traditions
people

There is, though, one thing that remains ...

love.

You see, my family - we love each other. Despite differences, arguments, and the faults we (all too easily) find in each other, we've always been good at loving. We haven't always been good at showing it, but it's always been there. You can't hide the fact that we love each other. It's something that you feel when we're together. Those feelings can't be "faked" or covered up when they are there ... truly and genuinely there. I love it. We love the memories that shaped us as we grew up - songs like the one I've put the words for below. We love the friends we've made in each other. We love the chance to get together and spend time with each other. We simply, seemingly despite all odds, love each other.

But most of all
the thing that we love most about each other
the thing that we value in each other
the thing that we all share together in very different but exactly the same ways

is the love we have for our Lord, Jesus Christ and the confidence we have in the knowledge of the love He has for each of us.

Sharing that love with my husband, my parents, my sisters, my in-laws, my grandmothers, and the list goes on ... it's unexplainably hopeful, encouraging, and comforting. It's what I spend much of my prayer time wanting for people that I know to be able to experience. It's what gets us through tough situations together ... unchanged ... because no matter what the events in this world are, all that matters is love.

Why am I telling you this? Who asked me about my family? What does this matter? 
 Because it's Christmas, because I want to encourage you to spend genuine/transparent/quality time with your family/because I want you to know the love that's out there available to you!

it is SO joyful

During this season, people celebrate lots of things. The most important is the true meaning of Christmas ... My family is celebrating God's love for us in that he came by sending His Son to start His earthly life knowing that it would end for the purpose of saving us. Love that big is almost incomprehensible, the fact that a father would willingly give up his son for someone else. Big love. In light of the recent tragedy in CT, that's hard for a lot of people to understand. Crazy love. There's nothing you can do to earn it or to deserve it, but it's there for you if you choose to believe. Free love.

Merry Christmas!


Forever And Ever Amen
Randy Travis

You may think that I’m talking foolish
You've heard that I’m wild and I’m free
You may wonder how I can promise you now
This love that I feel for you always will be
But you’re not just time that I’m killing
I'm no longer one of those guys
As sure as I live, this love that I give
Is gonna be yours until the day that I die

Oh baby I’m gonna love you forever
Forever and ever amen
As long as old men sit and talk about the weather
As long as old women sit and talk about old men
If you wonder how long I’ll be faithful
I'll be happy to tell you again
I'm gonna love you forever and ever
Forever and ever amen

They say time takes its toll on a body
Makes a young girl's brown hair turn gray
Honey I don't care I ain't in love with your hair
And if it all fell out well I’d love you anyway
They say time can play tricks on a memory
Make people forget things they knew
Well it's easy to see it's happenin to me
I've already forgotten every woman but you

Oh darlin’ I'm gonna love you forever
Forever and ever amen
As long as old men sit and talk about the weather
As long as old women sit and talk about old men
If you wonder how long I'll be faithful
Just listen to how this song ends
I'm gonna love you forever and ever
Forever and ever amen

I'm gonna love you forever and ever
Forever and ever
Forever and ever
Forever and ever amen

crafty...

I've been doing a lot of crafting lately ... a huge update will come soon since it's been about a year since I blogged! Anyway ... here are pics from my latest fun!

Thanks for the cutie witch from Mrs. Cathy at A Surcee Life!

Akot, South Sudan, Africa

Mustard Seed International has a page about South Sudan and particularly Akot where we'll be going. Here's a video about it!

View Larger Map

my job, my cookies, and Africa!

So here goes ...

I'm settling into my new job and loving it! God is so good ... never would have dreamed that it would be my JOB to tell people about Jesus - what a wonderful blessing this is! The preschool & children's ministries have been steadily growing (little by little) and my campaign for more volunteer workers is well underway. The "re-branding" of the ministry is also well underway ... get ready for "Kids Village" (children 1st-5th) and "Little Village" (preschool babies-5K) to make its appearance in the spring! Lots of fun new ideas coming!! Did I mention I love my new job?!

As far as the cookie business goes, I'm booming! Just last week I received 6 orders (not for the same week - that'd be crazy - but 6 none-the-less)! I'm expanding my repertoire to include roller skates and valentines coming soon so be sure to check out my cookie blog!

Upcoming news ... well I'm headed out of the country again! Not Guatemala, and not the original India trip. Sudan, Africa! I'm so excited to be traveling with some great men from my church as well as some awesome people with Mustard Seed International, a locally based missons organization! From what I can tell, we are going to be checking out an orphanage! I'll update you closer to the trip time with more details, but in the meantime, please pray for me!

I hope you are doing well and that 2012 is blessing your family!

With Love,
Kristen

I have a new job!

Sorry for the sporadic posts lately . . . this year (when a teacher says that she's referring to the start date being August, haha!) has been a whirlwind to say the least. Remember all those posts about "somethings coming" or "God said to 'Go on'"??


Well, I did ...


blindly ...


Do you know how scary it is to get in a car and start driving somewhere unknown? No? Well, in a literal sense, me neither, but I have found out that in a figurative sense (meaning following a prompting of God) it's the BEST thing you could ever possibly do in your ENTIRE LIFE! You've just got to trust me on this one - or do it yourself!


Here's my story - hold on to your seats :)


Last May David and I started praying for "what's next" in life (refer to this blog post!) We thought it was maybe a stirring for a family. We prayed for that, for direction in that, and for clarity in what was going on. You see we'd completed this 4 year cycle - 4 years of high school, 4 years of college, about 4 years of work, time for something new. Well, I wasn't pregnant, nor did I get pregnant (refer to this blog post!) and I was ok with that and truthfully I still am! Still, no answer to the question, "what's next?" Around October of that year my stomach started hurting, a lot, every day. I thought it was my gallbladder and then we found out that it was something else - yay, there's a diagnosis and a cure. Looking back, I think this was evil work trying to distract me, trying to steer me off the path that God was laying out in front of me. I'm so thankful for family and friends and wonderful doctors that helped me through everything. Yes, it did take a lot of patience and prayer. It's still not completely resolved, but I was reminded daily that "I can do anything through Christ who gives me strength" (Phillippians 4:13) even, working through pain! During all of my stomach issues (refer to this blog post) I still felt like I was being prepared for something, that God was still working in a mighty way in our lives. Soon, we found out about a missions trip to Guatemala with our church and we decided to get our feet wet with that ... I mean what if God was calling us to pack up and go somewhere like, oh I don't know, Africa?!? We went (refer to this blog post, and this one too!) It was amazing, but still no definitive answer. We didn't feel prompted to move to a third world country permanently. So we kept praying, David kept working and I went back to school. Around mid-September I was reminded that there was a position open at our church. It had previously been publicized as a part-time job, but I was drawn to it again. Let me interject here, you have to understand two things 1)we live about 45 minutes away from our church so a part time job was out of the question financially and 2)leaving a classroom in the middle of a school year is just about impossible! With that said, I inquired about it possibly being a full time position - why? a prompting from the Holy Spirit to "Go on!" (refer to this blog post).


Here's when my answer came: YES! After the initial WOW moment and the excitement of the possibility, millions of questions flooded my mind: Really God - you want me to quit my current, good, comfortable, stable job? When will this all work out? How do I apply for something like this? Am I qualified to be a Children's Minister? Who will take care of the 26 babies I've grown to LOVE so far this school year (even Riley!)? How can I work in a town I don't live in? and so on and so forth.


If you don't take anything away from this story today - please take away this: When God speaks, act immediately; with no reserves, no regrets, and no retreats! He will honor your obedience and bless you with the honor of being in His perfect will for your life. I cannot begin to explain to you how wonderful this feels and I'm humbled every day to know that this was God's plan for my life!


So, back to the story, the whirlwind part - I asked about the job on a Tuesday, sent my resume in on a Thursday. The following Tuesday I was sitting in a preliminary interview with the personnel committee of the church. That Thursday I was sitting in an interview with the senior pastor of our church. The next week I was offered the chance to move forward with the process of telling the congregation. That Thursday I sent in my resignation letter to the school's district office. The following Monday I was informed of my benefits & payroll terminations to be coming soon and I told my team of teachers my plans. I also explained to them that after telling our principal of my plans, she said that there was a teacher available at any moment because her district paperwork was not processed in time before this school year (not a coincidence in my opinion). That Sunday, a bio about me was in the bulletin and a church conference was scheduled two weeks away. For these two weeks, My replacement teacher was able to come everyday to get to know the kids. The Sunday of the church conference I was voted in unanimously (which was nerve racking because we'd had some heated, to say the least, church conferences recently - refer to this blog post!) The Monday of my last week, I sent a letter to parents - and not one negative response was given! Sunday I was greeted warmly by volunteers and parents and Monday I started my new position as "Minister to Preschool & Children at First Baptist Church, Mt. Pleasant."


I've never done something so daring before in my life - resigning from a job when the next one is not completely lined up. I knew, though, that this was finally the answer to my prayers. God's timing is not always our timing. If it was up to me, he would have told me what he wanted me to do in May of 2010 when I started praying. If it was up to me, he would have told me at least before I started the new school year. He didn't though, He knew the best time. He knew the lessons that I needed to learn - lessons of blind faith, of trusting Him in all circumstances (future security, financially, etc.) He knew what the perfect plan looked like and He needed my complete obedience. I'm so thankful that I serve such an amazing God, such a perfect God, such an all-knowing God. He worked all the details of my life out for me better than I could have ever planned - even during the tough times. In the bible, Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." 

Be encouraged to follow God's promptings - with blind faith.

Thanks for helping our trip!

Dear Family & Friends,

                 We’d like to take this moment to send a sincere heartfelt thank you. Our trip to Guatemala was one that we’ll never forget. It was impossible without your support! We’d love to share a couple of many stories we experienced in hopes that it will encourage you as a supporter in furthering the gospel to the “ends of the earth.”

The purpose of our trip was to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with some of the Guatemalan people. We spent most of our time in a small village just south of the Mexican border called La Union. People there live in dirt floored homes among many family members as well as family animals (goats, pigs, chickens and dogs). Imagine your entire extended family in your living room alone – that’s what it was like. They eat mostly tortillas, black beans, and chicken cooked over open fires. The food, despite our hesitations, was wonderful!

 The first story we’d like to share is one from our afternoons. We spent the afternoons going from home to home asking people if they knew Jesus. Don’t worry, in their culture it was not weird to just stop by and talk to strangers about God like it would be with our neighbors here in America. We asked them how they were doing and what they did for a living to get the conversation going. At one particular house, we met an older lady who practically ran out into the street because she knew we were in the village – our reputation by the end of the week had preceded us. She brought us into her house to pray for her mother.  There we learned of some unexplained illnesses that caused much pain. All the family members are Christians and were in need of encouragement. At that point, Kristen was prompted to share about her stomach issues over the last year and to encourage them that God is the ultimate healer. We had an amazing time of powerful prayer and physically felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. The first picture at the bottom of this letter is a picture of this family.

The second story we’d love to share is a “fish and loaves” one. We experienced a miracle! Prior to the trip we were told to plan a Vacation Bible School for about 50-100 kids. Just two weeks before takeoff, we got word that the kids might be around 200. So, we adjusted and planned crafts, bible story, recreation, and music for 200 kids. When we got to the village we found out that we’d be able to be at the public school (that’s big just to be in a public school!) for about … 800 kids! We were quite honestly dumbfounded! We assessed the ages (kindergarten to 8^th grade) and our materials and quickly made a new plan. David’s recreation relay games were a huge hit and God allowed us to have enough crafts for all of the children each day with excess! How much excess? 200 crafts came home in our suitcases – the amount we planned for in the beginning. God is good! The second picture is of the children carrying their chairs to school. The chair serves as their desk as well: sit and listen, kneel and work on the seat of your chair, sit again and listen. What an amazing view of how good we have it here in America!

 The stories could go on and on, but we hope you get the picture! God blessed us beyond what we could have ever expected. Thank you for praying for us. Never did we feel unprotected. Never did we go without shelter and food. Forever will our hearts be changed! You might be wondering what’s next for us … we are too! We know that we felt “at home” while sharing with these people and we are definitely going to stay open to God’s direction about missions in our future. We don’t know where he’s leading, but we also don’t believe this one trip was the end. Please keep us in your prayers and know that you are appreciated! 

 God Bless,

David & Kristen Patrick

Go On

My oh my, what a crazy week this has been! I've been on the move for two weekends in a row. Not much sleep ... a lot of cookies (and a cake!), a lot of school 'stuff' and some really exciting things going on. Whirlwind is as close to the correct word as I can think, and I'm positive I can't sum it all up on here as quickly as it has happened in real life, but I will tell you that I have felt God move in my life in an amazing way! I felt him spur me to "Go On" ... where? I'm not 100% sure, but I've got a pretty good idea. I do, though, believe that when the snow settles in my life's snow globe, the scene God has been working on will be more beautiful than anything I could imagine. (You might think that's corny, and it probably is a little cliche, but it's real!) So my purpose in this short blog ... 

encouragement. 

PLEASE be encouraged that no matter what, when God speaks you need to act immediately. Go rewards obedience - it's what we are called to do and it's what makes our creator proud of us. I feel like God has opened a door for me. I'm not sure which room I'm walking into, but with blind faith, I'm going to walk through the door. I encourage you to walk through the doors of your life - even if they don't end up leading to what you think ... 

Go On!

Teachers

I heard this during a talk by Guy Doud on His Radio (100.5 FM) tonight in the card driving home. Sometimes I feel like I spend my whole life in the car and sometimes I love it. Tonight (after another long & stressful work day) God spoke to me. He reminded me of his calling on my life - to be a teacher. Tonight I was driving home from a missions council meeting at my church. David & I have felt called to become part of missions within our church and I'm learning how it correlates to teaching. I LOVE teaching children at school and I LOVE teaching people about Jesus. I've found (insert a 'duh!' here) that the more open I am about surrendering to God's will for the direction of my life, the more he refines his call on my life - especially in ways I never thought would happen. God never ceases to amaze me and meet me where I need him to ... tonight it was in the car driving home after a stressful day at work. Even if you're not a teacher maybe you can get something from this, I certainly hope you do!


A little back story: Guy Doud was a former national teacher of the year (1986) and was recognized by meeting Ronald Regan in the oval office! This poem is what the president personally gave him by an unknown author.

Teachers ...
You are the molders of their dreams
The gods who build or crush
Their young beliefs of right or wrong.
You are the spark that sets aflame
The poet's hand or lights the flame
Of some great singer's song.
You are the god of the young, the very young
You are the guardian of a million dreams
Your every smile or frown
Can heal or pierce the heart
You are a hundred lives, a thousand lives.
Yours the pride of loving them
And the sorrow too.
Your patient work, your touch
Make you the gods of hope
Who fill their souls with dreams
To make those dreams come true.

Hope

As I've been back into a routine, stressed beyond belief, I'm reminded that I'm a child of a living God. I'm reminded in the car while I listen to the radio. I'm reminded when I see a beautiful sunset on the way home from school or a sunrise driving over the bridge on the way to church. I'm reminded when I look into the eyes of a child in my class that has survived leukemia. I'm reminded when I sit - quiet - even for just a few minutes that I'm not alone. This God I'm speaking of has such a great gift - for anyone to receive. He offers hope. Hope is, by far, the best drug out there ... Hope is, by far, what can pull you through any situation ... Hope is, by far, what has been allowing me to float these last two weeks. There's more to the offer of hope and I wish I had hours to explain, but I don't. For now, I'll leave you with this verse. It's been reminding me to keep the conversation between me & God open through prayer. It's been reminding me to be patient during the tough times. It's been reminding me that there is hope for good to come. I love how God knows how to meet me where I am exactly when I need him to be there ... I hope that you can have this comfort too.


Romans 12:12 (Different translations so you can get a good picture of the encouraging words Paul wrote)


"Rejoice in our confident hope, be patient in times of trouble and keep on praying." (New Living Translation)
"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." (English Standard Version)
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." (New International Version)
"When you hope, be joyful. When you suffer, be patient. When you pray, be faithful." (New International Reader's Version)

A Good Quote

Saw this on a friend's blog and loved it ... 


"The irony is that while God doesn't need us, but still wants us...we desperately need God, but don't really want him most of the time."


What an awesome God we serve!

Three Years Ago this month . . .

 . . . I was choosing, paying for, and getting fitted in
my wedding gown!

I've been watching my new favorite show all day long :
Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta. 

 

Don't worry, I've gotten a lot of cookies and laundry done today too. Anyway, I've had so much fun watching that I actually pulled out my wedding dress . . . an Angelina Faccenda (a designer for more popular known Mori Lee) ball gown with swarovski crystals, sequins, beads, lace on antique silk shantung fabric. Here's a pic from the internet -
I'll get a pic of me in it up here later.

Needless to say I loved it ! The whole experience that I had on Daniel Island at White was amazing - just as wonderful as the girls on this TV show. So, if you're in the market for a wedding gown, you should totally check White out. (I've linked the pic to her site) Jodi will definitely treat you like on of the girls!

Look What I Got!

Real mail! Not bills, not junk, not a flyer ... real mail from my friend! 

Her blog is on my list and it's called "A Surcee Life." You should check it out ... she's super artistically talented. (As you can see from my paper flowers below!)

Anyway, she does these Friday Freebies & I won this time. Currently they are sitting on my lamp shade (just kinda propped up) until I decide what to do with them . I might make some more myself from the awesome tutorial she showed me and just leave them there! We'll see. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Thanks again Mrs. Cathy! 

I LOVE THEM!

Sphincter of Oddi

Just take a look at this picture . . .

Yes, that is an actual medical term and it's the answer to my mystery medical ailments previously misdiagnosed in older post "Gallbladder Woes." Here's what Wikipedia has to say about
Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.

Now that you have studied the picture, reminded yourself of my past troubles, and researched with me on Wikipedia I can assure you that you aren't alone in thinking . . . "What?" That's exactly what I said, so here's the story in some "plain English."

I've been having these attack-like symptoms since Oct. 2010. I've been to multiple doctors and had a wide range of tests done all so say . . . "We believe you have pain, we don't see on the tests where it's coming from, let's try to take your gallbladder out because that will might work." So, trusting a doctor and no longer being able to tolerate daily stomach pain, I said yes! You can imagine my cry-baby response when the pain came back (seemingly worse while I was on pain meds for surgery).  Back to the doctor I go . . . a different one this time because the other one just treated me like an account number that he'll get a paycheck from, but that's another story . . . in hopes of a real answer! After lots of questions, some mashing on my tummy, and some blood work, the doctor says, "You are probably suffering from Sphincter of Oddi disorder." 

Now it was my turn, now I had questions for him:


1) What is that? It's a sphincter (round muscle - similar to the one you're probably thinking of in a funny/gross way) that basically controls the bile that your liver, pancreas and gallbladder emits into the first part of your intestines to help with digestion.


2) Why does it hurt SO BAD? When you have this disorder or dysfunction, the muscle spasms out and/or contracts so tightly that the bile cannot get through, thus causing a 'back up' if you will in the pancreatic duct. Once the muscle relaxes, the bile flows, the food is digested, and the pain is relieved.


3)So I had my gallbladder removed for nothing? NO - a lot of people do not find out they are suffering from this disorder until after they have their gallbladder out because the symptoms are almost identical and the pain is localized in the same place.


4)So what are you suggesting I do about this? First you need to know that there are three types and we will be treating you as if you have type 1 (the less intense). I am putting you on an anti-depressant medication that is used to treat chronic pain called Elavil. I'll see you back in 6 weeks and if the pain still persists we can move forward. (treatment for type three involves possibly cutting the muscle during a 4-5 day hospital say ... yuck!)


5)Are you sure you aren't giving me an anti-depressant "crazy" medicine to treat my "chronic pain" since all tests came back clear? Here the doctor laughed out loud, but I had to make sure he wasn't just thinking I was crazy! He said no, not at all. In fact this medicine has shown to really help Oddi patients no have to undergo surgery.

So there you have it; questions and answers about this crazy diagnosis. I'm so thankful that I finally have a real answer and not a lot of maybe this, maybe that's.  I'm so thankful that this doctor talked with me for a while and didn't rush me through my questions. I'm so thankful that a year of pain might be all I have to endure before this is all over with. Please pray that I keep getting guided in the right direction with this "thorn in my side." I know that there is power in prayer because our Lord is a great healer!

ps - My doctor said that MUSC is a leading researcher for this crazily named disorder . . . go figure! If they can save my sister's life, my daddy's life, and my husband's papa's life, I'll trust them with my belly too . . . only if it gets that far!

It's Not About You

June 23, 2011


I have a couple questions for you that I'm going to attempt to answer.


What do you expect from a teacher when the students do not learn?
What do you expect from a doctor when the patient is not healed?
Why is The Church here?


I'm a teacher, have been for 5 years going on 6. It's been my experience that when my students do not learn something, I have the responsibility to re-teach the skill. My student's parents expect me to alter my lessons to meet the differing learning styles of their children in order to educate them. My principal expects me to be able to present the content in multiple ways so that no child slips through the cracks without learning. I don't continue to teach the way I was teaching hoping that it will sink in this time. Out of pure desire to accomplish my job, I do those things ... I change because I have the best interest of the child at heart.


I've been very sick this year with some stomach issues. I've been to the doctor almost weekly since October 2010. It's been my experience that when I'm sick, the doctor has the responsibility to discover the illness, treat and/or cure it. When I go back to the doctor he does not give me the same medicine in hopes that it will kick in this time. He does not treat me just like he did before because that's the only thing he knows. The doctor alters his thinking about my situation and tries multiple diagnoses & treatments. I'm so glad that he did because he's finally figured out what's wrong and I'm feeling better. He changed from his initial plan so that I could be well ... he had the best interest of the patient in mind.


"The Church" is a body (or group) of believers. These people believe that God is most high. They believe that because a man named Adam messed up, we all mess up. They believe that because this sin (all the mess-ups) is in all men we have no way to God. They believe that God sent his son in human form to Earth to live a perfect life (no sin, no mess-ups) in order to die, take our punishment for us, and recreate a way to God. As a result all who believe can be reunited with God.  It's been my experience that the church building is a tool that the church body can use in order to tell the world about this wonderful story. If the church body inside the church building is not growing then it must be because un-churched people are not being drawn inside. I would propose that it just makes sense to change what is going on inside the church building in order to draw people into the church body for the sake of spreading the wonderful story - The Gospel of Jesus Christ.


Just like the teacher changes with her students' best interest at heart; and the doctor changes with the patients' best interest at heart, so should the activities provided by the church body in the church building change with the best interest of those who do not know the saving grace of the Lord at heart.

School's Out for Summer!

We just celebrated a long weekend and it was the perfect "taste" of what was to come ... SUMMER BREAK! 

Last weekend we spent time in Marion, SC with one of the greatest hostesses ever ... Ansley's mother! The boys played golf Saturday & the girls sat by the pool. After dinner we discovered a new game for the Wii - Michael Jackson; The Experience! SUCH a fun dance game - embarrassing videos may or may not be posted soon! We spent some time in the pool Sunday morning, and then headed back. 

David and I went out on the boat with my family for Memorial day & had a blast! At one point during the day we cut a watermelon & couldn't eat it all. Daddy was trying to give it away to kids walking down the Capers island beach and they were all doing as their mothers & teachers told them - don't take food from strangers. Well, as daddy was complaining about not being able to just "be nice" these days, a man walked by and noticed our left overs. We offered one more time & he said he had 5 little 'monsters' that would like some. They were so cute & so happy when they got a piece of watermelon ... it was just sweet. Well, a family that was sitting on the beach, then sent over their 3 kids & they got our last 3 slices. So, daddy was right, people should just keep on "being nice" and the world will be just fine! I

t was all wonderful, until I had to go back to school for 3 days of teacher workdays. They were hard since I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends since I've been in Summerville. I'll miss Valerie, but I can assure you I'll be making a trip down to FL to visit her! She's at the top of the line on the right - this is a picture of my awesome team on Halloween.

 I love the children, I love the teachers I work with, and I absolutely love the schedule! One of the best things about my job is that I still get a summer break. Yesterday marked my first official day off! I started with a 20 minute session on the treadmill followed by an hour long Zumba class ... if you haven't done that, you should! Then my girls & I spent the day at the pool! Kristy & Ansley are the greatest!! We enjoyed our new favorite drink, the "Marion Spritzer" and floated on the best floats ever invented! I can't wait to see what else this summer has in store, especially Guatemala!