I was reading my sweet blog friend Stephanie's post today and immediately knew that I had to share the good things going on in our life too.

 

Sometimes I feel like I don't want to be too personal on here. I mean I know this is MY blog, so it's usually about ME, ME, ME, but really this blog isn't about me.

It's all about what God is doing in my life and that's the biggest message I want you to get from this.

To God be the glory.

 

I told you about the time God provided us with a FREE building right?

If you haven't read it yet, I'll wait.

Go check it out here.

 

Amazing right??

 

As you might also remember several months ago, Teddy took a HUGE leap of faith and left his well paying state job to go out on his own and start up a heating and cooling business. Our major source of income gone. We had some savings, but it went quickly. We have some here and there work but not much. I wish that I could say I leave it all up to God and never worry about our bills would be a big fat lie.

I do know that God is taking care of us. In fact people have come out of the woodwork and helped us here and there. We know that God is doing that.

He put dear friends and family in our lives to help us and we are forever grateful for that.

There are months when we aren't sure how the bills are going to get paid, but they do.

I complain about dirty dishes, but it means we're eating. We haven't missed a meal yet.

Even our chickens have started laying eggs again!

God has literally provided us with everything we need and then some.

He allowed us to go to the C3 conference in Dallas, stay in a nice hotel and even drink a few Starbucks!

I mean is He an awesome God or what?!

 

When life starts feeling desperate and you aren't sure which way to go. Look up!

Get out the greatest and most popular book ever written and flip thru the pages.

The Bible tells about His love on every page.

 

God is with us.

He is in this life with us.

He is working behind the scenes, gathering just the right people at just the right time to take care of you.

Don't be frustrated. Be thankful.

Be thankful for the right now, exactly where are you.

There truly is value in your struggle.

And instead of asking "why me?", just ask God to open your heart so that you can see the value in your current situation and thank Him for His works in you because He is preparing the way for us and taking us to great heights.

You can be sure of this!

 

" Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him."

Jeremiah 7

 

" Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Matthew 11: 28-29

 

We are still waiting for the appraiser to finish his paperwork for our building. Our goal is to be in that building before Easter, but God's timing is really what we're going for.

We could really use your prayers and support as right now we are still meeting at the fairgrounds and have to set up and tear down each Sunday. Being in our own building will be such a blessing.

In the mean time we are praising Him for what He has already worked out for us and the fact that we have a building to worship in is amazing in itself.

 

I hope you have a GREAT week!

 

Back Roads Are For Driving

Every once in awhile my man will have an errand and need to go for a little drive down a dirt road somewhere.

And every once in awhile, we just drive down a dirt road because we can :)

I never knew the significance or joy that could be had while driving down a dirt road with your hubby in his old pick up truck.

We sometimes grab a Sonic drink, hold hands and daydream about our life on the farm someday.

There truly is something so wonderful about it.

And don't let me misguide you, our Subaru Outback has made many a trip  down dirt roads too.

A couple of weeks ago after some snow we took such a ride.

I like to really soak in the environment and the scenery.

I never grow tired of seeing the barns and cows in the field. Something I didn't grow up seeing and can appreciate so much more now that I'm not so "citified". :)

Even on a gloomy day our countryside is beautiful.

 

Sometimes a person just needs to get out of their regular environment and into nature.

Something that doesn't always come natural to me, but a much needed break.

 

 

I recently read in my "Jesus Calling" devotional by Sarah Young this excerpt that is so perfect:

" You are feeling weighed down by a plethora or problems, both big and small. They seem to require more and more of your attention, but you must not give in to those demands. When the difficulties in your life feel as if they are closing in on you, break free by spending quality time with Me. you need to remember who I AM in all My Power and Glory. Then, humbly bring Me your paryer and petitions. Your problems will pale when you view them in the Light of My Presence. You can learn to be joyful in Me, your Savior, even in the midst of adverse circumstances. Rely on Me, your Strenth; I make your feet like the feet of a deer, enabling you to on the heights."

 

Habakkuk 3:17-19

" Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strengthy; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights."

 

In all of our circumstances, BIG and small, we MUST celebrate Him.

If you are spending only a small part of your day with Him, you will only get a small part of Him.

If you are devoting a BIG part of your day with Him, you will get a BIG part of Him.

 

Take time today to enjoy the small things, because each thing is a blessing, sometimes in disguise.

 

We recently got back from a trip to Texas that literally changed us.

We were so blessed to attend a conference called C3 in Dallas at Fellowship Church.

I will be blogging about that soon!

 

It's cold and icy here in our little corner of Arkansas today.

I hope you are warm and cozy wherever you are.

 

Have a great day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brand New Church Salem- Temporary Home

This past Sunday was our first official Sunday for Brand New Church Salem campus. We met in a building at the fairgrounds instead of my living room.

To say we were excited would definitely be an understatement!

 

We met up at the building on Saturday along with the help of Sonic Happy Hour and a late night pizza run. Because really, what brings people together better than Jesus and food? Can I get an Amen?! :)

 

 

The guys worked hard plugging in wires, connecting this and that, setting up mikes and speakers.

And because we are classy ( and also frugal right now ) we used a sheet for our projector screen. It worked perfectly!

 

After a long day of getting things set up and lots of trips back and forth to our homes and Dollar General for this and that, we hit it hard early the next morning too.

 

 

We got the snack/drink table all set up. And my mom loaned us an olive green percolator from the 70's. Praise God it worked!

Starbucks never tasted so good!

 

And I had the sweetest little helpers who were so eager to stack up the fruit and snacks on the platters. But they were truly most interested in helping with the coffee.

And then once they had poured in the grinds and plugged it in- "Is the coffee ready yet?"

" How about now?"

Love that!

That's how we do it at Brand New Church Salem.

We teach the kids how to brew coffee:)

#futurebaristas!

#trainthemupright

 #notheydidnotdrinkanythatimawareof

 

 

And also because we like to keep things interesting, we made a few calls on our banana phones!:)

Hello!

 

The worship guys practiced (sorry for the blurry picture).

And things really started moving in the right direction.

 

 

 

 

But before all this happened, the devil really tried sneaking in to steal our joy.

 

You see the devil likes to do that sort of thing.
He thrives on darkness and ugly situations. And he really jumps at the chance to kick us while we're down or prey on our weakness and doubts. The devil does not want us to succeed in spreading the love of Jesus. He doesn't want everyone in Salem or any other town for that matter, to fall at the feet of Jesus and get saved from the flames of Hell.

He wants us to sit around in our misery, despair and brokenness.

What a jerk.

 

We were all tired and stressed and couldn't quite see the end picture. Things weren't going the way we thought they should and some of us were feeling down right defeated and ready to give up.

The devil LOVES that.

In fact he was probably giving himself a pat on the back.

 

But guess what?
We serve an awesome God who NEVER abandons us.
Especially when we are down and out and can't see the light, He still shines!

 

Romans 8:31 says it so perfectly.

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

 

Psalm 18:28-29

"You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop;with my God I can scale a wall."

 

We had the upper hand in this situation. We chose to let the devil defeat us in that moment.

We worried unneccesarily.

We had our own expectations and weren't fully relying on God.
God is our constant companion! He goes before us to prepare the way AND He walks alongside of you.
There really could never be a more constant Companion.

 

Before the night was over,we came to our senses.

 

" For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lifet you up in their hands, so that you will not stike your foot against a stone."

Psalm 92:11-12

 

"The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace."

Psalm 29:11

 

He has brought us so far and already opened so many doors for us in Salem. And we are not alone.

He surely isn't going to kick us to the curb now.

What we really should have done is stop everything, got down on our knees and prayed to the ONE and ONLY God who is in charge of it ALL.

 

 

 

Are you struggling with something today? Or feeling defeated by life and circumstances?

I want you to know that I pray for each and every person who's eyes read this blog. I pray that somehow, someway it will brighten your day if you need it. Or it will be a resource of hope if you need it.

And if you ever want to ask questions or dive deeper into God's love for you, I would be so pleased and honored to chat with you.
The greatest gift is available to YOU 24/7, 365 days of the year.
And it's FREE.
No strings attached.
Who wouldn't want it?

You can leave a comment or find my email information on the sidebar.

 

For all of you reading this today, I have a small favor with a BIG reward.

Would you pray for our little town? Would you pray for our church who is ready to do BIG things in people's lives and in our town? Would you pray for strength amongst our church and it's leaders? And would you pray that people will flood the doors of our church seeking Him?

 

I am nearly in tears as I type this and think about how far I have come in my walk with God. I am so grateful to have this platform here to share His love with you in this very dark and depressing world.

Thank you for reading my little blog and for praying.

 

You mean so much to me!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Thinking Of Warmer Days Ahead

The weather here in Arkansas is weird.

One day it will be 60, the next day calls for a high of 30, but will feel like 20.

Add in a sprinkle of ice and snow and it can make a person go nutty really.

 

And what it really does it make me long for the warmer days when things start to bloom and farmer's markets are buzzing again, the windows can be thrown open in celebration of fresh air. Blankets and warm candles are put away and out comes the sweet, citrusy smell of being alive.

 

It's funny how towards the end of the season I start to get a wanderlust for what's coming next.

And I don't mean to do that.

I really do try and be ok with the "right now".

 

So here are some random pics that you might have already seen long ago to get you in the mood for warmth.

 

Picked from our garden.

Hubby makes the bon fire, I get the coffee ready. We're a good team like that.

 

I can almost taste the juicy goodness of these fresh peaches from the summer!

Peonies are my favorite flower. The end.

Fresh strawberries.

Garden fresh corn on the cob was made for grilling over an open fire.

You can thank me later :)

 

And of course how could there be a post about warmer days without including tomatoes.

Jam for days.

 

But the most important thing, not matter what season we're in is this:

 

What I've Been Up To Lately

Hello Wednesday!

 

The week is half way done, but I just thought I would tell you a little bit about the fabulous weekend we had in Eureka Springs.

As you probably remember from this post and this post back in March of 2012, we LOVE Eureka Springs. We honeymooned there, twice, and try and make it back there as much as we can. Which usually ends up to once a year.

So when our church decided to have a staff advance for all leaders in Eureka Springs, I started packing my bags!

 

It was awesome!

 

And we stayed in the Crescent Hotel which has a spooky reputation for being haunted.

 

 

Despite my hubby's hopes of seeing or hearing a ghost and a claim that the air conditioner turned off in the middle of the night when in fact it was never on in the first place, I didn't see/hear any creepy activity.

Thank goodness!

 

And the view from our shared balcony was beautiful!

 

We felt so blessed to be there with our friends and church family. Since we are part of a satellite church, we don't "see" everyone on Sunday. It's easy to forget that there are people on the other side of the screen worshipping right along with us.

We absolutely love our Pastor and the church we serve.

And we know that 2013 will be a BIG DEAL for our little town.

 

We had some down town before our first session began on Friday night, so naturally we spent it sipping mochas overlooking the historic Basin Park.

 

 

Good grief I love that place!

 

Is there anything better than a great view, good conversation and fabulous coffee????

 

We are feeling so blessed to be part of this all and knowing that God has been forming our lives for such a time.

It feels so BIG.

And yet we know we are small in the scheme of things.

Something that I took away from the sessions we had with our guest speaker Willie George from Church On The Move was this:

God will not do what man can do.

Sometimes it's your turn to move.

God takes care of the Supernatural while we take care of the natural.

 

Whoa.

 

That was HUGE to me.

 

God gave us hands and feet and a brain and sometimes we need to get over ourselves and JUST DO IT.

What is  God asking you to do lately?

Are there answers you are looking for but not receiving?

 

Maybe it's your turn?

That Time Someone Gave Us A Building

Oh Hey There!

I'm that girl that used to blog a little more frequently- remember me? :)

 

Since I'll be linking up with Amy over at Lucky Number 13 for Virtual Coffee today, I encourage you to go get a beverage of your choice and get settled in.

 

I'm about to tell you a story that is going to be talked about for years to come in my little town.

 

I don't know where to begin, so let's start a few years ago when the hubby and I started dating and got engaged.

No this isn't a love story, but well, sort of it is.

You see long ago the hubby and I knew  that we were called to ministry. We didn't know the details, but we knew that God was preparing us. So the hubby filled in at  a few churches, preaching on a Sunday or helping out with Sunday School, but we still were not certain. We prayed and prayed, we even thought about going to another town to be the youth leaders, but nothing felt quite right.

Fast forward to January 2012.

We had been looking for a good church to settle in with and hadn't yet found that in our town.

We felt led to try out Brand New Church in Mountain Home, which is a town about 45 minutes away from our house.

We loved it instantly!

Everyone was so nice, the music was awesome, and they served STARBUCKS! Hello!!!

We had arrived!

We still felt the pull to be a part of ministry so we continued to pray and reall listen for God's direction. All the while, God was still preparing us. Like a good roast in the oven on slow and low.

That was our journey. Slow and low.

We helped out in the kids area and wherever else we were needed.

And as some of you regular followers of this blog know, my hubby left his job at the end of September 2012 to start doing what he had felt God calling him to do. Except he didn't really know exactly what that was, he just knew he couldn't serve the way He wanted us to when he worked on the road and was gone all week.

So we met up with our pastor, and started talking about opening a sattelite church here in Salem, our town. He thought it was a great idea! You see Brand New Church, or BNC, has the main campus in Bergman, Arkansas. And then there are 10 or so other sattelite campuses. Each location has a campus pastor and a live worship band, but we watch the main message on a screen every Sunday together.

So back to our coffee date with the pastor.....

We talked it over some more, he encouraged us to continue to pray and so would they. We all felt excited about the possibilities and knew that God was IN this!

We met up the week after Christmas and decided that this was the right thing to do.

So this is finally it!?!!?? Yes!!!!! A BNC was going to open in Salem and Teddy would be the campus pastor! So exciting!

Now about a building to meet in????

There is an old building here in town that we felt was just right. We knew immediately, along with our worship leader and his wife that THIS BUILDING had to be it!

So we contacted the owners and they said they wanted $2000 a month.

Hold the phone! Say what?

We told them we were thinking more like $700??!!

So they thought about it and called us back................

And do want to know what they said to us?????

Are you still with me?????

OK.

The called back our Finance Pastor and asked him if we would like to acquire the building for  FREE?

FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They needed a tax write off, we needed a church building and BOOM!

Can you believe that!!??

We have felt certain about this all from the beginning, but this was such a HUGE affirmation that God is preparing our way! He is hand in hand with us in this journey.

 

He's doing the Supernatural, while we do the natural.

 

I urge you to not think small in your prayers. We serve a very mighty and powerful God. He is still in the miracle business my friends and nothing is TOO BIG for Him.

Can you imagine what God is going to do in this town if he worked out the details to get us a building for FREE?

For all of you in the area reading this, we plan to have a soft launch mid February and then our Grand Opening March 31, Easter Sunday!

We are so excited and ready to do God's work. We cannot wait to see where He is going to bring us and the people's lives that will be transformed thru this experience.

I will tell you right now, it's already changing my life.

If He is For us, who I ask you, could be against us?!

Snow Day

So the weather persons forecasted snow and we actually GOT SNOW!

And in case you don't know what a snow day is like for a small southern town, let me help paint a picture for you.

 

Pretty much everything will shut down.

Except maybe the grocery store, Dollar General and a gas station.

 

Half of the population will stay snug as bugs in their cozy houses, watch movies,  make a big pot of soup and drink hot chocolate.

The other half will bundle up, start up the old 4 wheel drive pick up truck and drive around town to see what's happening, stopping by friends and family to see if they are ok, need anything from the grocery store and maybe throw a snow ball at them.

 

We did a combo of the two:)

That hubby of mine was itching to get out in that snow so badly he could barely sit still!

Later that night we were invited to dinner at our dear friends house, where we were fed a delicious meal of chicken alfredo!
Yum!

 

During this season of our lives we are being taugh to really hold on to and rely 100% on God.

Money is tight and emotions are a little sensitive.

When we stepped out in FAITH just a few months ago, we knew that times would be different than we were used to.

And honestly I looked forward to that.

I didn't want to go on one more day not appreciating every.single.thing.

And God is bringing us right into the middle of that.

It's in the small moments that BIG FUTURES are being molded.

We are in the midst of praying and believing for a branch of our church to be planted here in Salem.

We are praying for God's plan to show up in a Big Way to change the lives of people forever and turn this little town upside down for the glory of God.

Will you pray along with us for this journey?

We don't know where it's going, but we feel lead.

And really that's where it starts, isn't it?

 

"Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."

Psalm 37:5-6

Are You Sowing Seeds?

Thinking a LOT about being thankful this week how about you?

I disregard so much and take for granted.

We spent last week in the Chicago suburbs where I grew up and were so glad to get back home to our simple country life.

The hustle and bustle of big city life used to thrill me.

Now it makes me nervous and uncomfortable.

But back in the day I never could have imagined being happy where I'm at now.

But God knew. :)

 

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all time, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

 

Yesterday our church bagged around 150 Thanksgiving bags to distribute this week.

The bag includes enough food to feed a family over the weekend.

 

There are families right here in our town who do not have enough food to eat.

That fact blows my mind.

It makes me want to open my doors and feed everyone who is hungry. Or give a warm place to sleep to anyone who needs it.

And yet it scares me too.

The whole idea of "letting in strangers...."

#beingtotallyhonesthere

 

This service that your perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

2 Corinthians 9:12

 

This week and this season of our lives is a true testament for all of us.

How we behave during a season of plenty when there are those who have nothing so close to us, says a lot.

I don't say this to make you think you aren't doing enough.

I, am not doing enough.

But I am telling you to appreciate and be thankful for your circumstances and do what you can.

Big or small.

There will no doubt be a time when you are in need.

 

Give generously, for your gifts will return to you later. Divide your gifts among many, for in the days ahead you yourself may need much help.

Ecclesiastes 11:1-2

On a side note, my dad is having surgery on his shoulder this afternoon.
Would you pray for him to have a smooth surgery and a quick recovery?
I know you will:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday to you!

Yesterday the hubby and I had a chance to sneak in a little Date Night! Woohoo!

We are trying to make our marriage a priority over everything else and really implementing things we learned on a marriage retreat weekend back in September called Romance Uncensored.

If you would like to read those posts again or for the first time, you can find them HERE , HERE and HERE  . 

We had such a good time just being together.

We ate at Long Horn Steak House. 

Now the hubby can grill us a mean steak, but we do like to eat out at places where they at least offer things we wouldn't usually make at home.

And shrimp doesn't usually make the grocery list at home because something about frozen shrimp from China, really doesn't set well with me.

However that beauty you see on the left side of the plate?

Let me introduce you to Steakhouse Mac-N-Cheese.

This ooey, gooey, smoked bacon, chives and cheesy goodness should be ILLEGAL ya'll!

I mean it was DELICIOUS!

And because we stuffed our pretty faces with spinach dip before our meal even came, I took some home for leftovers and enjoyed them at lunch today. 

Don't worry honey, I saved some for you too:)

Then we took a quick trip to Target, which is actually a HUGE treat because we don't live near one and I browsed the $1 isle for goodies I have seen you girls snag on IG. Yeah, they weren't in this $1 section. But it's all good. I still made it out with some cute things.

And then we came home to our little snickle fritz who has captured our hearts big time.

Snuggled up in hubby's recliner like he owns the place.

Thankful for unexpected date nights, enjoying this time with my hubby and ever so thankful for a God who loves us, no matter what.

Happy Friday and hoping you have a great weekend!