where have i been?

well I will tell ya...
Been at work meetings everyday, chasing details after I leave work, on the phone a lot, texting many students, updating facebook group for work, sending FB messages, oh & not feeling good.

So yea, work is in full swing. I really enjoy my staff team & getting in the Word with them. We've been meeting now for 2 weeks & feel really excited about the school year starting. We kick off officially tomorrow with a party for people involved, wednesday we have "the big something" where lots of new people come get free food & meet people on campus, Thursday we give away 1600 free tshirts from 10:30-1:00, grab lunch 1:00-2:00, start knocking door to door with contacts we received the night before 2:00-4:00, a ministry wide texting party at 4:00pm (texting EVERY contact who said Yes to our two questions from getting a free t shirt...usually around 900 students...not a typo) to let them know CRU is THAT night at 7:30 & invite them, come home from maybe 5:30-7:30 grab a quick dinner, put my feet up for a few mins & head back to campus for Crusade at 7:30-9:00pm.

WHEW! I will probably meet around 150 new people in the span of 3 days. Maybe more...my job is exciting!

As far as my health stuff I said up there...Monday I started feeling a tad dizzy. Tuesday it was the same, so I didn't go to staff meeting & went to the doctor once Teddy got home. They found some ear wax in my ear & washed it out. Prescripted me some ear drops for irritation & we were on our way. Except, I still felt it for a little bit weds & thurs. Thursday night my dizziness increased ALOT...so Friday morning i got blood work done. All those counts came back normal & no i'm not prego. So we still dont know what hte deal is. I felt better throughout the weekend, but not 100%. Today, i'm still not 100%. Still have little spells of "whoa.." dizzy business. Might get a head scan if this doesn't clear up. Pray for wisdom in this. :)

We've been cooking fools around here lately. Thursday night we had pork chops, ranch style beans, and salad. Thursday night I decided we were going to have chicken for dinner friday night...so we started the marinating process thursday night. By Friday night they were AMAZING. We baked them & had garlic potatoes, and salad. Friday night I had decided that we were going to make waffles from a new recipe for brunch. They were yummy, but I wouldn't necessarily say they tasted SOOO much better then bisquick. But we still enjoyed them. And if was fun to measure & try something new.

Wanna try?
Peach Tree Tea Room Waffles
2 cups flour
1 Tbl baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup buttermilk or yogurt (add 1 tbl vinegar to milk to make buttermilk)...new thing for me to learn
3 large eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
2/3 cup nuts (optional)...Teddy doesn't like

1) Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Stir in buttermilk & eggs, beating with a spoon until smooth.
2) Add melted butter & optional nuts. Blend well
3) Allow batter to rest for a least 1 hour, or it can be refrigerated over night. (we just put it in the freezer for about 15 mins...worked fine)
4) Bake in prepared waffle iron



until next time...
-Kells

really...two years?

Two years ago yesterday my wonderful husband asked me to be his girlfriend. If you are my friend you probably know the detailed version of that story. I will NEVER forget THAT step in his old house. Or that the Olympics were happening during that time. Or that they had NO furniture in the living room...so we always had to sit on the floor. Or that after LOTS of prayer & confusion the Lord gave me the go ahead to date Teddy June 17, 2008. We had our first date July 28, 2008 (Olive Garden). And we had the DTR talk early morning (midnight-ish) on August 14, 2008. It's still fun to reflect on the direction & guidance the Lord had starting with our friendship March 2007. If you know me...I LOVE love stories. So of course I love mine. :)

Even more fun is that we got to celebrate FIVE MONTHS of marriage yesterday. Goodness! Next month we will already be in for a half a year. Time FLIES. We love it though. After Teddy had brushed his teeth & I was still lounging in bed (lets say around 11:15am :) ) he jumped in bed and said HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! :) I'm big on dates...if you couldn't tell. So we will be celebrating (usually a date) each month up until our one year. After that...I will probably let up a tad...we'll see.

To celebrate we went to the Science Spectrum...for almost 5 hours :) We also saw one of their Omni Max movies. That wasn't really worth the $8/ticket...plus I felt dizzy & nauseous almost the entire time. That type of screen will do silly things to you. We spent all but 45 mins (the movie) in that place exploring & playing. We really enjoyed ourselves. We played with bubbles, dominos, music things, sciences of sports, color tricks, fishy...etc etc. You might think it's only for kids...which yes there were LOTS of kids...but we had a blast :)

After, we went to pick up our curtains from JcPenny's that we've been waiting on. We hung them up & I was disappointed. (ha!) So we are probably going to take them back. You see, our living room window faces West. So in the evenings while the sun is going down it's WAY hot in our living room/kitchen. Our poor little AC unit can't keep up. I'm wanting some curtains that block out the sun & it's heat. We thought the ones we bought were just that...NOPE. Way too thin & lets light in. Not what I wanted. So we will probably have to order curtains AGAIN & wait another 2 weeks AGAIN. Eventually we will get it right :)

Oh and we watched The Bounty Hunter. We thought it was good. We went to red box wanting to watch: Letters to God, The Last Song, or Date Night. nada. So we settled for bounty hunter...but pleasantly surprised. We laughed a bit. I mean no...not my favorite movie. But 10 times better then Leap Year (we rented 2 weekends ago...we had to turn it off) Now, that's what you call settling for a movie. BLAH.

Over all, a PERFECT day together. Here's to 95,305,063 more days of LOVE. :)

-Kells

new obsession

Yes, I have a new obsession. It consist of learning about marriage & everything that goes with that. But the key is I'm wanting to learn biblical things about marriage. I search high & low for sermons (from trusted pastors) & read lots of church blogs. I just LOVE learning more about God's design for marriage & how those specific things can & will play out within my marriage.

So--my time with the Lord lately has been surrounded by this. I do feel connected to the Lord a lot lately (in comparison to my desert dry summer) But I feel like I'm missing out on scripture. Sure, these sermons & blogs point back to scripture constantly...but I'm not taking the time to look them up.

The simplicity of reading the Word of God.

Today I did do a study out of my Women of the Bible study--but it took me to the Word. I LOVED it. I mean yes, I was drawn into a marriage study AGAIN. (but whatever--it is a new stage I'm in...I probably shouldn't fight learning about it so much) But it was good good good.

Here are some Promises in Scripture:

"For you are people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasure possession." -Deuteronomy 7:6

"Praise be to the Lord, for he showed his wonderful love to me." -Psalm 31:21

"For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation."- Psalm 129:4

"I have loved you with an everlasting love." -Jeremiah 31:3

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." -Zephanish 3:17


ahh i love those scriptures. Delight, Love, Treasured, Crowned, Rejoicing...all this God feels for ME. I just breathe these in & feel this overwhelming love. WONDERFUL love.

I needed this reminder. I think most girls need this reminder weekly. I wonder how this resonates with men? I would think it would be harder to be wooed by the Lord using those words. (random thought)



(a beautiful prayer for you to pray)
Lord, I have placed you as a seal over my heart. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate me from your love. AMEN.


-Kells

colorful dorms...

I ran a few errands today after staff meeting. Went to the mall to pick up our curtains for the living room. They were suppose to be in LAST friday...they weren't. They said come back wednesday & we should have them. I showed up today & nope. ANNOYED. I'm just ready to have the blanket off the window :)

Then I went to get my ring clean. I haven't had it cleaned since the wedding...(almost 5 months ago) & decided it was time. It is SOOO shiny now! :) Oh and for fun I tried on the band that goes with my ring. i like it. Hopefully within this next year or the next i can get a band :)

Then, i went to Target. I needed to get shaving cream & deodorant for my hubby. Of course I had to at least walk past the clothes & eye everything and browse the shoes. It's a must. I still have birthday money to Target, so i look for places to spend it EVERY time i'm there. While I was browsing i noticed that lining the outside of the store & throughout the store there were ALLLLL these college "essentials" (they call them) begging to be bought. I noticed young moms & young daughters loading up their baskets with stuff for the dorm. It was obvious when they have the shower caddy, microwave, fridge, and SUPER colorful towels. You HAVE TO HAVE colorful towels, bulletin board, and comforter. DUH. ;)

It made me really excited to meet freshmen. But it also sparked this other thought about freshmen (well college students in general). They are starting to build, claim, establish their own identity. Where does that start as a freshmen in the dorm? It starts with the BEST dorm room with the BEST decorations (that practically make me want to vomit at times...TOO MUCH! I mean, yes I had this as a freshmen too..but still) If you rush & "get picked" for the BEST sorority--you have another identity. Guys shuffle over to the Rec and play basketball...gotta be known on the court. Or they have the Wii, PlayStation, Nintendo cube & 2,304 games...they are the hot stuff on the floor. As the semester continues the identity can shift to good grades, group of friends, the girl or guy you are dating, and things you are involved in.

Where is God in all this?

I came into college as a christian. But I definitely walked this line of identity crisis...especially freshman year. I bounced from friend group to friend group throughout college. Luckily, I came out with a handful of friends that are life time friends. But still had a hard time being secure with my identity found in Christ.

I pray freshmen students could find their identity in Christ first. Day one when they leave their parents. It's hard, I understand. I pray that they would get connected quickly with a Christian community either through church or ministry on campus. I pray that they would walk with Christ for a lifetime. I pray that they make wise choices that will honor God. I pray that they would understand that what they experience or do in college WILL effect your future jobs & relationships. Ultimately, I want them to experience Christ quickly in college & not wait until their Junior or Senior year to realize they have missed out on a relationship with God throughout all of college.

Will you pray with me?
-Kells

a refreshing reminder

this blog post was stolen completely from : http://graceandguts.net/
Be encouraged!

What do you need most today?

What would renew your hope, squelch your fears, and calm your soul?

As for me: I don’t need a vacation or a quiet walk. I need to know I am loved and forgiven. Loved in spite of my mistakes and short comings. Forgiven even when I keep tripping and falling down. The simple fact is that I am loved by a God who sees all of me and knows all I’ve done or not done and still choose to call me to be his child, his beloved child. Truly, amazing love.

Enjoy this writing from Paul Tripp. His grace-filled words serve as refreshing reminder for each of us.

It is such a comfort to me, such a source of hope and strength and daily joy. It gives me reason to get up in the morning and to press on even when I am discouraged and weak, and lonely and afraid. It gives me reason to face with courage the struggles within and the difficulties without. It reminds me that I can stand before You as I am, completely unafraid and ask of You what I have asked before and will ask again: Your forgiveness and Your help.

What gives me this courage? What offers me this hope? It is this one thing. I know for certain that there are two words that I’ll never hear. I know that You will never look at me in the eye and say to me, “Go away!” You will never send me from Your presence. You will not drive me from Your grace. You will not separate me from Your glory. You will not eliminate me from Your promises. You will never ever, ever send me away. Because Your anger was borne by Another. Because my separation was carried by Him. Because He was sent away, I will never be.

So, in weakness, failure, foolishness, and sin, I stand before You once more with courage, hope, comfort, and joy. because I know that in all the dark things that may be whispered to me in this dark and fallen world there are two words I will never hear. And so with gratitude and joy I get up to face the day but as I do, I do it without fear.


LOVING this post. :)
-Kells

lead me

Hang tight during this post...i'm a little all over the place. Hopefully it will wrap up ok at the end...

Lately Teddy and I have been reflecting on this idea of leading & submission. In the Christian world we are taught to have the guy "pursue" us women. It would ultimately reflect on his ability to lead you through marriage (if you get to this place in the relationship).

I always thought that the guy is suppose to lead in dating. I learned through my relationship with Teddy that wasn't true. The times it talks about that in the Bible is dealing with marriage. Dating is a time when he is able to put on training wheels & learn what it might look like. The guy can be an encourager. The guy MUST respect you as a woman of God. But I can't rely on his leadership in our dating period. You shouldn't be "following" a guy you are only dating. But, realize you will get little glimpse of what it could potentially look like as your relationship develops.

I desperately wanted to follow Teddy. I wanted him to lead me well...while we were dating. I ended up disappointed OVER AND OVER...but it wasn't his responsibility-yet. I had to learn to follow Christ during that time. Which began my struggle with keeping Christ #1 & Teddy #2. It seems like it should be easy to be fully in love with Christ...I mean come on...He died for ME, You, Us. If you think worldly things distract you now...wait when you start falling in love with a Godly man the, struggle unfolds...(this isn't really what this post is about so I will stop here. But know that if you are single cherish that time. Walking with the Lord can become harder when you date, get engaged, and married)

Ok back to leading & following...
This marriage thing is & will be a long process of learning. I have found that because we haven't had HUGE decisions to make yet (almost 5 months in) that I keep thinking Teddy isn't leading me & I'm certainly not following. I found myself asking him the other night about this. He kindly pointed me to many times (that could appear small) already that I said yes to things I wasn't 100% about, but chose to submit to his decision. And it has worked. I smiled when he pointed this out.

What I pulled from our conversation is that leading looks differently then what I originally thought. (go figure...lots of things in marriage look WAY different once you are experiencing it) I was craving to see this unfold in our daily life...not JUST big things. I will miss out on a lot of growth and glimpses of God's glory within our marriage if I only pay attention to this "leading thing" during big times. We are now looking for ways to lead daily & follow daily. If he loves me well, I will be quick to respect him well. If I respect him, he will be quick to Love me well. (Love how this works!)

A song that I love is Lead Me by Sanctus Real. If you have never listened to it go to you tube now & look it up. :)

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying

"Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone."

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying

"Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone."

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I am called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't you lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love
Chasing dreams that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this out home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone


I love this song for a couple reasons. The order or importance is RIGHT on. Christ leading the husband, the husband leading his wife, followed by the husband leading the children. Often once people have kids this order gets all our of whack. It's once again tough to have God #1, Spouse #2, Kids #3.

I think this song touches the deepest part of my heart. It communicates what I want from Teddy. It puts everything into words.

Babe, I love you. You continue to amaze me as I watch you choose to walk with Christ. Thank you for the ways you lead me & love me daily. I love figuring out marriage with you. I'm so grateful that I'm married to a person who wants to learn about his bride & Christ. I love you forever.

If any of y'all have thoughts about marriage/dating/leading/Christ...comment. :) I might be married now..but I have conversations on a weekly basis about dating with the college women I meet with. Plus, one day Teddy and I will need to teach our children about dating & marriage. (store all these things way for years to come!)

-Kells
p.s. WOOHOO for me blogging twice this week!

finished...a few days late...but finished

my FB status 10:30pm 8/4/10: gosh, this support raising summer has been long & faith stretching....but I'm going to sleep tonight with a grin...the Lord managed to bring in $2,414 in TWO days. :) never under estimate a God who is in COMPLETE control. DONE!

let me expand on this a little bit more...
The past 3 summers I have raised financial support for Crusade. We get paid because faithful people give towards the ministry in my name. It's never been a huge challenge but this summer it was a MAJOR challenge. I had around $900 a month drop from my team. That is close to $11,000 (considering the entire year)...BLOW to my staff account. Because I've shifted to part time I raised less. If I had to raise more then I would be in trouble. It would take an act of God for real. :)

August 1st was my deadline. August 2nd I got a phone call that told me that I had to be bumped down to tier 2 of the part time category. For us financially, that would be HARD on our budget. I was only short $2,414 when I got that phone call Monday evening. I sent out an email to my staff team & posted it on facebook to please pray. Before I went to bed last night all of that money had been committed & making it's way to my staff account. PRAISE GOD! When I reflect back even further...July 20th I still needed $7,000. 2 weeks later and all in. CRAZY!

Teddy and I were constantly praying for this. I know lots of my friends & family were praying too. I'm SO very grateful for you. If you are interested in giving towards the ministry you definitely still can. There is always the chance that people might drop from my team during the year. It's better to raise a little bit over to be safe & get full pay checks. You can go to http://give.ccci.org/give/0607071 to give directly to me.

Plus, you should DEFINITELY check out this video (only 5 mins). It's so sweet & displays the amazing students within our ministry. And you get a glimpse into what our ministry is all about across the nation & world. Go Go Go & be encouraged!

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JME2wcfDmc

Work starts up again this Monday. We have staff dinner that night & Tuesday-Thurs we have 3 hour meetings. Then Friday we have a half day with the Lord & a short meeting. We will be chasing details through out the week too. The next week will probably look the same & then we will be back on campus. Helping freshmen move in, hosting a party for our leaders, giving out free food, giving out free shirts, trying to serve students on campus, and the first day of school is also a Thursday--CRU night...so we will have our first CRU meeting the first day of school. Just typing all this makes me feel tired, but also VERY excited to meet new little freshmen who are scared to death about their first semester of college. I love that our ministry can help put them at ease. :)

Kim & brett are almost home from their honeymoon & my friend Katie Webb is about to be hitched in 2 days! I literally knew of at least one person getting married the past 5 weekends. Multiple during one weekend. It's fun! :) I'm sad I can't make it to Katie's wedding in North Carolina....but gosh her bridal pictures were AMAZING. She will be a stunning bride!!

Oh and can I just say...I went to Dollar tree earlier this morning. We needed a dry erase board for our fridge (help organize dinners & grocery list) & teddy needed some black pens for work. I just walked around the store for a little bit shocked at everything they have that is ONE dollar. Sure, i've been in the store before...but now that we are married & on a budget my eyes are OPENED. Even kitchen junk..they have anything..even cleaning supplies. Sure some of the stuff you might not want to buy for just $1 because it could fall apart quickly. But I still think it might be worth it if it's only $1. ok ok..enough!

I need to write thank you notes...i'm out. :)
-Kells