eight countries--one blog

On this blogger site you can see who is looking at your blog. Not necessarily WHO but where they are located when they read my blog   I have at least one reader from 8 different countries.    United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Russia, Belgium, France, India Who are you people? I know Australia is Cotterface! :) Belgium?!? I have no idea who that could possibly be. I can guess that Mera accounts for one of those countries. :)  Anyways, I thought that was interesting! -Kelli

Christmas season

**Please ignore my blog layout up there. I'm trying to fix it but to tired to work anymore on it :)**

Growing up I knew we would be spending Thanksgiving in Houston (mom's family) and Christmas was spent every other year Denver (dad's family) & Houston. Without asking, we just did it. I wonder if my parents decided this before they were married?

When Teddy and I were engaged we were encouraged to discuss these expectations early on. While we did discuss it, we did not come to any conclusion. Most of it was going to depend on $$, from what we thought. And our first holiday season we had to spend Thanksgiving in Lubbock due to Teddy's job. He actually worked on Thanksgiving and we had dinner with my sister/brother-in-law & my parents drove in from Keller. Christmas we were able to celebrate with my parents in Lubbock, drive to Wichita Falls to be with Teddy's mom and his Dad/step-mom/sisters drove in for one dinner to Wichita Falls. So we were able to see all 3 families for Christmas. It was great!

Christmas in Wichita Falls

Christmas with my family in Lubbock

This year we were in a completely different spot in our life. We have transitioned to a different job and traveling a lot currently. Our holiday season this year was dependent on our work schedule yet again. We needed to spend some time in Houston raising support so we decided that Houston was where we were headed for Thanksgiving. It worked great because my parents were headed there too. We truly had the best time in Houston with my family!

Colton's first Christmas

Christmas we pretty much played by ear according to our support schedule. We ended up having Christmas with my parents/sister/bro-in-law in Lubbock on the 19th. Then we headed to Wichita Falls on the 22nd to spend two days there with Teddy's mom/stepdad/siblings/nana..etc. We really enjoyed our time staying with Teddy's Nana. She made us breakfast both mornings and we just sat and talked about her growing up in the depression. She had amazing stories. She likes to talk about Jesus too, so that is always fun! I can officially say that I have met all of Teddy's siblings now. :) I met Matt & Jackie, his step-siblings this trip.

One of 5 dogs at Teddy's dads house

After doing Xmas dinner there in WF we headed to Krum, Tx (5 mins North of Denton) for Christmas Eve/Day and few days after with Teddy's Dad/step-mom/sisters. We had late nights talking. We enjoyed seeing what Santa brought us Christmas morning. We spent a lot of time just relaxing next to the fire. We enjoyed being with Teddy's half sisters. We even got to see We Bought a Zoo. I really enjoyed the movie!

I really thought this Christmas was going to be "awkward" because we couldn't buy any gifts. But, I truly felt at ease at all 3 of our Christmases. We really do enjoy giving, so it's hard for us not to. We feel blessed that our family would still give to us even though we can offer nothing but love. :) 

So yea, we have no traditions quite yet as far as where we will head when. Luckily, we are both pretty flexible and willing to work together to see family. Next year, when we have our normal work schedule we will have the entire week off for Thanksgiving and Christmas we will be off around the 15th-31st. This is one of the perks of our job. I'm looking forward to planning, instead of last minute get aways for the holidays.

I'm also looking forward to having our own babies sooner than later. This will bring in an entire new twist as we develop our OWN traditions for our family. :) I've seen so many fun things families do with kiddos around the holidays. I'm just tucking them away in my head for the future.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
-Kelli

Emergency Room Visit

My pretty bracelet!

Almost a week ago I made a trip to the ER. I have never been to the ER for myself.


Teddy and I had enjoyed a day of studying, a surprise gift card in the mail led us to eat dinner at On the border. It was yummy. We ended the night hanging out with some friends (The Bollens) at their house doing a puzzle. While doing the puzzle my stomach started to hurt and progressively got worse. I went to the bathroom thinking it was just that, but no I was wrong. The main only got worse.

We left their house about 45 mins after I initially felt the bad pain. I knew we had to go to the ER, even though Teddy thought it was gas. I just KNEW it wasn't that. It hurt.

So off we went to the hospital around 10:30pm. We wait wasn't too long to finally get in. One nurse tried setting me up for an IV and just dug around not finding the vein. I was annoyed and in pain. Mostly because I told her that I had blood drawn 2 different times in the past 2 years from my right arm quite successfully. But no, she went for my left arm and couldn't get it. They brought in another nurse who got it immediately on my RIGHT arm. Sometimes they should listen to their patient. :)

After more waiting and more pain they finally got me back into a room. Set me up on a fluid IV and pain meds. They also made me drink a nasty mix shot of stuff for acid reflux. They thought it might be pertaining to that. Turns out my blood work leaned towards a slight case of pancreatitis. Basically your pancreas produces enzymes to help break down your food for your small intestine. If you eat a large meal your pancreas can over work itself and become inflamed aka causing plenty of pain.

They sent me home around 2am still in pain. We went to the 24/7 CVS to pick up my prescription for pain meds and finally made it home and in bed by 3am. I slept pain free because of pain meds. Praise the Lord. We left the very next day for Wichita Falls.

If there was anything I would ask for prayer for, it would be just our trust in the Lord for him to provide the finances to take care of these medical bills. We still have hundreds of dollars of medical bills unsettled from Teddy's trip to the ER this summer due to insurance being a pain in the rear end. So these new hospital bills are more stressful. Mostly because our insurance does not cover blood work & there was no option...we had to. The Lord has ALWAYS provided for us. Whether it's random $ popping up, providing us extra work to make that $ to pay bills, or just giving us wisdom on how to manage our $ differently in order to pay. His provision may not be clear RIGHT NOW, but I know He is in control. But there are definitely days where I choose to believe in the lies and not stand on the truth. So pray that we would remember the truth in days that we feel discouraged. :) Grateful for your prayers! I will keep you posted!

Oh and I can't leave this blog without giving a loving shout out to my wonderful husband. What a trooper he was that evening. He was such a comfort to have. He keeps me calm! Thanks sweetie!

-Kells

currently...

Obsessing over: hot chocolate, boots, Pandora station called Christmas Jazz, facebook timeline, sleep

Working on: learning mail chimp (anyone wanna help?), sending out emails for work, re-designing the blog (ignore the mess currently)

Thinking about: our budget, support appointment coming up tonight, new goals for 2012, my sweet hubby

Anticipating: Winter Conference (www.thewinterconference.com), finishing support raising, Christmas with all 3 families, 2 yr anniversary (yes, I'm aware its in March...but still), so many friends sweet belly's growing with babies & having them in the summer!!

Listening to: Texas High School football on the TV (watching Southlake Carroll in the finals)

Drinking: water from my purple camel pak :)

Wishing: For normalcy, our own home, for a baby (someday)...so first a puppy...yes, wishing for a puppy :)


Christmas is soon. This season is different for us this year because we don't have $$ to shower others with gifts. I think the Lord is teaching me about my perspective of this holiday. I heard something recently that is helping me in this...It's Jesus' birthday..not mine. Interesting thoughts. Anyways, I will let you know how my perspective is throughout Christmas.  

-Kelli

update on our world

November felt like a whirlwind. Granted, we did stay in Lubbock for 3 weeks. That is the longest we have stayed in one spot since August. Travel travel travel.

We drove from DFW to Lubbock. Stayed for 3 weeks.  Drove from LBK to Houston for a week. Now we are back up in DFW and leaving for Lbk this coming weekend. Will be in Lbk for 2 weeks or so. Traveling either to Dfw or Wichita Falls for Xmas. Then have to report on December 31st for The Winter Conference (student conference...such fun!) until January 5th.

Welcome to our world. :)

We had such a wonderful time in Houston for Thanksgiving! Probably one of the best trip I've ever had in Houston. It was just a blast! Its been three years since I've been in Houston with my family and Teddy has never been down there. The weather was great! We spent time playing basketball, playing card games, eating deliciousness, shopping for black friday, singing a lot (the norm for the Lambert fam--mom's side), hanging out with my cousins, went to see a movie, had some encouraging support appointments, and hung out with Brett/Kimbo. Overall just a great time.

My mom, cousin (Jessica), and I went black friday shopping. We went to the midnight opening at Kohls. We shopped for only 45 mins but stood in line for over an hour & half. How crazy is that? I came for one thing and walked away with one thing. I wanted brown boots and got them. They were normally $95 but I got them for $35. SCORE! It was worth it and I crawled into bed at 3:30am...instead of the normal waking up at that time to get up and go stand in a line some where. I've alway done black friday. It's fun and a rush!

It was great to see Brett and Kimbo in Houston. We spent an afternoon/evening with them! Since leaving Lubbock in June to head to New Staff training with them, we knew things we changing. We knew the four of us were not returning back to Lubbock together again for normal life. We are so lucky to have a job that has touch points so we will continue to see them even though they will be living in Baton Rouge. That is FAR from Lubbock. We saw them in October for a conference, we will see them again for Winter Conference in the end of December, and then who knows after that. Either way...we are blessed! :)

Teddy and I are recovering currently. Our bodies are making that loud and clear. We are tired and have managed to both be sick. Sore throats, running nose, coughing, phlegm (that's for you cot)...it's lovely.We actually haven't been sick at all since we started raising support. So we feel blessed!

Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving!
-Kells

please, learn from our mistakes

Hello blog world...it's been a while.

We are still just trucking along with raising support. It normally takes a couple 6months-1year to raise it. So we feel like we are in a good spot. We are still praying to be on campus by February. Keep on a prayin for us! :)

So with support brings the countless number of hours spent in my car. Filling it up. Driving it around. Watching the miles creep up and up (125,550 currently). Weighing it down with our life in luggage. Now put this on repeat since June 10, 2011.

Our plan is to keep this car until it will no longer run. This means maintenance has to be done to keep it on track. Well, that has been less than my focus on the car since my parents handed it over to me in August 2008. My dad did a great job keeping it updated...me...not so much. Sure, I did oil changes on time, but that was about it.

Now, we are paying for it. Literally.
Here is what we have HAD to do since August:
-New Battery ($78)
-Cleaned our our fuel system/test ran ($468)
-New fluids ($180)
-New Alternator belt ($206)
-Charcoal Canister ($390)
-Delayed Title switch over ($496)
-Two new tires for Teddy's truck ($448)
-Both cars inspections ($45)
-Registration tags ($55)

Grand Total: $2366

Now, I KNOW some of those things are normal things that have to be done. But, it's been crazy that it's all happening August-now considering that are in transition and even had 2 months of no paychecks. God teaching us to trust Him with our finances...perhaps. He had taken care of us.

You might wonder what a Charcoal canister is. I had never heard of that before. Well, now I know. Basically, it's a thing in your car that helps your car not smell of gasoline when you put it in your car. It helps with those fumes. Very rarely, it can malfunction and not do it's job. This means that things will back up in your fuel system & not allow you to pump gas well. The gas line with click/pop as if your tank is full, but it's really not. You will spend 15+ minutes trying to fill up your 12 gallon tank. ANNOYING. We are happy this is fixed now...but not as happy that we are one of those "rare" cases. :)

You might also be wondering what on earth I mean when I said delayed title switch over. Listen up people...if you are buying a car from someone, getting it as a gift, anything like that, you HAVE to get the title properly switched over within 20 business days. If not, you will PAY. Backstory: After we got married my dad said we needed to switch the car over into my name. So he signed the title & I went to take care of it. Turns out, I needed my moms signature too, in addition to lots of other paper work because they weren't present (lived in different city). I was overwhelmed and walked away not doing anything about it. Fast forward to this year. We did not receive our tags in the mail, so I figured I just need to go to the southlake town hall (where my parents get their car tags from)to get things taken care of. Low and behold, because my dad had started the process of turning the title over to us by signing the title, we were now being charged $20 every 4 weeks until it was finished. We owed Texas $496, not including our tags ($55) because we had not finalized our title switch. I was so frustrated at the whole situation. It was one of those situations that you know you are responsible, but I just didn't know either. I had NO idea you had to pay like that because we didn't finish it.

Lastly, Teddy's truck needed to have the inspection done & updated. It had actually expired back in August, but because we haven't been driving it (just sitting at friends house), we figured we would eventually get to it. We wanted to get it taken care of while we were in Lubbock. So we went to get the inspection done & discovered that two of Teddy's tires were bad. PERFECT. :) It was the result of him not taking care of his truck too. So our $15 inspection, turned into a $448 charge for two new tires & $15 inspection.

Lesson are being learned in the Lytle family. Please learn from our dumb mistakes :)
Take care of your car. Rotate your tires. Do normal maintenance. Finish paperwork.
Understand that you have to spend some $$ in order to keep a car for years. It's much better than having a car payment each month. Just do it. (I have to keep reminding myself of this)

-Kelli

complex life

I received this in an email today. Good stuff...

Today's complex life is the deadliest enemy of listening. The result of our complexity is fragmentation, thinness, and the inability to concentrate or become deep about anything. Satan is the happiest heir of our technological age, and he enjoys slapping us about like a handball. I must resist him by deliberately choosing essentials and rejecting the gadfly activities that render me ineffective.

How do I learn to be a good listener to God? I must begin by giving Him time and attention. That is the crucial part of the battle. I must reject the siren calls that tell me to be everything to everybody, and simply concentrate on God. Next I must develop a sense of awe and reverence for God, which is a natural preparation for silence, which in turn is essential to proper listening. Once I develop an ear for God, I will be able to hear Him even in crowds and, as Brother Lawrence says, "Go forward even in sleep."

DAILY WITH THE KING

small pet peeve

We all have them. Little pet peeves that can drive you nuts.

Thanks to Taco Bell, I have discovered one to mark down in the books.

Speaker: "Hi, Thanks for choosing TB..take your time and order when your are ready."
Me: "Thanks"
Speaker only 1 minute later: "Take your time and order when you are ready."
Me: (thinking in my head...THAT IS WHAT I'M DOING) "Thanks, it will be one more second."

Or another one that really isn't so much a pet peeve, just bothers me sometimes. Often when you pull up to a drive through they will ask how are you doing. We usually will respond great, how are you doing? (genuinely asking) Their response: Take your time and order when you are ready. Really, this boils down to people either not actually listening or they are just stuck in a routine & it's hard to shake a routine. :)

Note to self: Spend less time at drive thru windows. This will help my stress & frustrations AND my waist line :)

-Kells

when your emotions catch you off guard...

Yes, I'm a woman. With that comes emotions over load at times. Sure I can be dramatic at times and cry at the drop of a dime occasionally. But then, I have these moments when I read something, hear a story, listen to a song, or watch something on TV and I get emotional. It truly catches me off guard at times.

Last night this happened.

I read a facebook status that mentioned one of Teddy's high school friends. It didn't sound like a good status, so I told Teddy about it and he immediately contacted another friend to find out what was going on. Turns out this couple had gone in to deliver their first born last night and they had a still born.  My heart sank immediately, like they were some of my best friends. Just 2 weeks ago she had posted a picture of the sonogram on FB & expressing how excited she was to meet their baby in 30 days.

I felt that lump in my throat and was having to hold back the tears while watching X-factor.

It was my turn to pray last night before bed & we knew we would pray for the family (husband/wife, grandparents etc)...but I just cried through the entire prayer. I couldn't help it. No lump any longer...just tears and tears. I was SO sad for them. SO sad.

Part of it is just the way God wired me. I've been known to cry & pray for strangers during my life. Spiritual gift of mercy that the Lord has given me. The second part I think is just the fact that we talk about having kids all the time with other married friends. And we obviously harp on the fun & exciting of starting a family. So it just felt like a punch in the gut.

But as I was reflecting on my reaction, I felt like this was God's gentle reminder (through a situation that is distant from me) that He is in control. He knows what is best. Even through some of the most painful days, He truly knows what is BEST for us. He knows what He is doing. Lastly, He can take a love one at any given moment. My hope must be FULLY grounded in Jesus Christ. Not in my husband, my family, our future kids, or my job. I say this now & hope that some day I can look back on this blog and be reminded of what He was teaching me when I wasn't experiencing hardship full blown in my life. Hardships will come. This I know.

I pray that I can be reminded of Gods character during those times. I pray that we have a community that surrounds us that can remind me of these truth if my eyes become blurred. Thank the Lord for community.

Anyways, we feel called to continue praying for them. So why don't you join us?
Pray that the Swenson's could find healing during this time. Pray for those moments when their house is silent and all they could want is a screaming baby to fill that silent void. Pray that the mommy wouldn't feel guilt. Pray for their marriage to remain strong. Pray that they would take the time to grief over their lost & truly seek the Lord during this time.

-Kelli

Loving your husband BEFORE you get married...round 2

 I was looking over my blog this morning and ran into this blog post again. I just love what this woman has to say. According to my blog, this post has had tons of traffic. If you notice on the left hand side of my blog there will always be three post there that are "most popular". Maybe you have noticed this title but haven't clicked on it. I'm re-posting it because I know there are newer people following this that might really enjoy this. (therefore, the bottom part will just stay the same...including the merry christmas. i posted it around that time last year)

I've noticed LOTS of people getting engaged these last couple of weeks. It happens like clock work each year. Get engaged this time of year & have a wedding in the summer or sometimes faster (the route we took). So I just only imagine that there are ladies out there struggling with their future and maybe allowing bitterness to set in.

Read this article.


Loving Your Husband Before You Get Married
By Carolyn McCulley


In my first year as a Christian, I attended or was part of 13 weddings-including the weddings of my two younger sisters and one ex-boyfriend. The Lord was working overtime on the sin of self-pity that year, but out of His sanctifying work came my informal "ministry" of a wedding coordinator. I started by helping one of my sisters, and as the word got around, I ended up serving countless friends.

At a recent rehearsal dinner, someone asked me if it was difficult as an unmarried woman to be so involved in these weddings. I was glad to genuinely say no. That wasn't always my answer, however. I can clearly recall sitting at many wedding receptions with the wind knocked out of me due to the bitterness in my heart. I would evaluate each aspect of the weddings I attended, and plan for how "my" special day would surpass the event unfolding before me. Like any Cinderella devotee, the highlight of my life would be that special moment when the doors were opened and all eyes-most especially those of My Prince-would be on me. What happened in the "happily ever after" part was the fine print. It was going to be All About Me on that day.

And probably for every day after that, too.

Maybe this is why the apostle Paul thought it was of paramount importance that the older women teach the younger women how to love their husbands. As always, the Bible is radically counter-cultural to the self-centered worldview spoon-fed to young girls through fairy tales and force-fed to young women through movies, magazines, and music. We have to learn how to step out of the princess spotlight and learn how to love well in the way God defines love. A wedding isn't the kick-off to Happily Ever After. It's only a segue into a new season, with new and different opportunities to demonstrate Christ-like love that weren't present when single.

Do him good all the days of your life

King Lemuel was taught well by his mother, and his wisdom was memorialized in the 31st Proverb. Writing of the virtuous woman, he said that her husband has full confidence in her, and she will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

That's all the days of her life - days before and days after marriage.

If you're single, there are things you can do now to sow good seeds for a godly marriage. What if you're not sure if you'll be married? Though marriage is the norm for most, not all of us will receive that gift-that's true. But, we're still called to prepare.

"Problems in marriage are always the result of self-centeredness,"writes Douglas Wilson in Her Hand in Marriage. "So the time a person spends when he is single should be time spent in preparation for marriage. This is important even if he never gets married. This is because biblical preparation for marriage is nothing more than learning to follow Jesus Christ and love one's neighbor. In other words, preparation for Christian marriage is basically the same as preparation for Christian living. Christians are to prepare for marriage by learning self-denial, subduing their pride, and putting their neighbor first. Once they learn to love God and love their neighbor, they are prepared to enter into the covenant of marriage with one of their neighbors."

Growing in philandros love

In her outstanding teaching series on the Titus 2 virtues, Carolyn Mahaney notes that the phrase "love their husbands" is only one word in the Greek. It is the compound word philandros, derived from phileo (a warm affection) and andros (man). Loving your husband with a tender, warm, deeply affectionate love might seem like a no-brainer until you think about the caricatures of long-married women in our culture: dismissive, disrespectful, bored, shrewish. Cultivating and maintaining that tender affection can, at times, take some work.

Single women can prepare to grow in philandros love now by understanding the doctrines of sin and God's sovereignty. If God has marriage for us (His sovereign plan), one thing we need to settle now in our hearts is that we won't be marrying Prince Charming; we will be marrying a sinner (the doctrine of indwelling sin). As will our husbands! So now we can do the "heartwork" to cultivate philandros love by working on what undermines it: the bitterness, selfishness, fear, and sinful judgment resident in us. When and if God brings us into a new season of marriage, this preparation will help us cultivate tender thoughts and behavior toward our husbands. Though there's not space for a comprehensive treatment of these topics, below are some questions to we can consider before the Lord while still single:

Bitterness: Is there any unforgiveness in your heart against the men you've dated, or the men who have never asked you out? Do you regard the single men in your life as brothers in the Lord, or potential husbands? Do you grumble and complain on a regular basis about being single? (Ephesians 4:31-32)

Selfishness: Are you willing to serve the "unlovely" or the "least" in your church or circle of friends-even when no one is watching? Do you defer to others, esteeming them as better than yourself, or do you insist on your way? Do you view your time and schedule now as a single as a season to indulge yourself, or to be more available to serve others? (Philippians 2:3-4)

Fear: Do you trust God for your future, or do you think He has forgotten you? Do you think others will betray you, and thus "mess up" God's plan for your life? (Romans 8:28-39)

Sinful judgment: Do you speculate about the single men around you, for good or bad? Are you assigning motives for their actions without asking humbly for information? Are you constantly comparing yourself with other women? (James 3:13-4:3)

Whether or not the Lord attaches an andros to our phileo love, this kind of "heartwork" is crucial to growing in the likeness of Christ. By working to become more like our Lord and Savior, we will be worthy of the full trust of both our earthly husbands (should we get married) and, ultimately, our heavenly Bridegroom.

______________

I know this article is specifically for single women, but MAN its true for married ladies too! The whole idea of preparing yourself all your days for marriage is something I certainly didn't get right. I had many occasions of bitterness towards men & fearing that the Lord would forget about me before I started dating Teddy. Then after we started to date the fears would creep in with trusting the Lord with our relationship.

Many of of the things she talks about in specifics I know STILL need work while in marriage. It truly is "heart work"...and HARD work to love like Christ day in & day out.

I also found myself recognizing that I can help my single friends in this too. I need to believe these things for THEM & love them through these areas. I need to look at the guys they want to date or do date as brothers in Christ & not let my bitterness, frustrations, judgments about that guy surface because of my friend. I can help point them back to Christ.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this article!!
oh yea, MERRY CHRISTMAS!! (since i didn't post)

-Kells

I remember...

This morning I was reading a great article on one of my favorite websites (newer fav). I have posted about it before, but wanted to mention it again. I think you would really benefit from the website. It has been eye opening for me and just a great reminder as we continue to try and make wise decisions with our finances.

Today I read one of the popular posted called I remember... I thought I would make my own list. Check out his list. I related on many different levels.

::My list::
I remember getting my first debit card & check book when I was in 8th. This was the start of my "money management"

I remember my parents going through "getting out of debt Gods way" when I was in HS. I "suffered" through no cable during that time.

I remember getting my first credit card when I was a freshman in college. It had a $500 limit.

I remember trying to be on a budget during college, but not ever succeeding. I didn't see the purpose.

I remember Teddy and I going on fancy dates while dating. Our favorite was/is sushi. It was nothing to drop $50 in one evening on dinner.

I remember when we bought a Dave Ramsey book when we were engaged. Little did I know that my perspective on $$ was going to be changed forever.

I remember getting married and Teddy's debt becoming fully my debt too. We had my PERFECT diamond ring to pay off & his truck.

I remember sitting in our tiny first apartment on the couch trying to set our first budget. It was a mess, but some how we agreed to tackle our debt as fast as we could during our first year of marriage.

I remember spending $25/week on groceries...just enough for us to eat bare minimum. Nothing fancy here.

I remember after 6 months of being on our first budget we re-evaluated. We had heard another talk by Dave Ramsey and realized that we needed to drain our savings to $1,000 (emergency fund only) and put all the rest towards our ring payment (our smallest debt)

I remember THAT day conquering our FIRST debt. Now it was time to snowball that $$ towards the truck.

I remember paying at least $1,000 (or more) EVERY month towards the truck payment starting in October 2010-February 2011

I remember Teddy taking extra shifts at his job, just so we could put that money towards our debt. It wasn't for fun, it was for our debt.

I remember at the end of February 2011 paying our last truck payment. Teddy went to the bank to pay it off.

I remember totaling our payment towards debt & being shocked. We had spent $12,743.25 on debt (in 11 months). And we were excited knowing that we will be able to do more (giving, saving, and spending) the next year bc we don't have debt. 

I remember owing for taxes (first time in my life) April 2011 and not stressing about it because we had just become financially free & had the $ to pay for that.

We are living on our savings right now because we are in a time of transition into our new job with Campus Crusade....we can do this because we do not owe anyone anything.


So there you have it. My remember list. I love talking these things now.

One thing to mention. Teddy bought a home when he was 20 in Lubbock. So we technically own a home as well. The past two years it has been a rental home and I believe it will continue to be rental for college students. So we have a home mortgage as well. But, most financial advisers would tell you that a home mortgage is the "best" debt because you can actually make money off property. Teddy and I are still in discussion about buying a home some day down the road for us & our family. I think currently we are going to save and put down way more than 20% on a home. Hopefully, this will allow us to have a 15 yr mortgage & possibly even pay that off early too. So while most people buy a home right after they get married, we will not be. :)

You have your own story too! What is it?
-Kelli

classic movies

One great thing about living with my parents is the fact that they have all my childhood movies.

What's even better is the fact that they are VHS. :) Luckily, they have a DVD/VHS combo!

We spent our lunch time watching Lion King on VHS. What a treat!

Here are some of the other movies on VHS:

 

a weekly date

About 4-5 weeks ago Teddy and I implemented something fun for our marriage. We will have a weekly date occur! The reality of our situation right now: we spend ALOT of time together already. BUT, it's amazing how you can spend so much time with a person and not talk about important things or even have a FUN day away from the house. Once we start having kids this is will get more difficult, but still needs to be priority. So we want to make it a priority NOW!

We thought it would be a refreshing thing to add into our schedule & our budget.

Truth is: our marriage is important. Our relationship is key. Marriage isn't easy & to keep it fun and exciting takes work.
Reality: We weren't making time to work on this part. We were falling into routine and missing out on opportunities to develop our marriage by continuing to date one another!

RULES:
1) $10 budget per week...period. This forces us to be creative! (if $10 isn't used, it can roll over to next week)
2) We take turns each week planning the date.
3) We will have a set day eventually. But our schedule is crazy right now, so we pick a day (day or night) that fits into our schedule.


What is neat about this too is the fact that as soon as we started to focus more on dating each other, the Lord has provided in fun ways to help stretch the $10 further.

What we have done:
-(Kelli) Ate sushi (Dad happen to give us $20 to go on a date, we added our weekly $10 & wala we can afford our fav date food!), went to a coffee shop to read our marriage book and talk, then went to a 9/11 memorial park to take a stroll.
-(Teddy) Split a burrito bowl at Chipotle (less than $10) and documentary event we got to attend for free
-(Kelli) Friday night homecoming football game ($5/person) & free museum (we love these!)
-(Teddy) Saturday day afternoon college football date at Buffalo Wild Wings. We got a coupon from Teddy's uncle for $10 free food. So we split 12 wings & a basket of fries and only had to spend $4...which left a great tip for the waitress equaling $10! After watching games we went furniture shopping for FUN. We love dreaming about our future homes and had a blast doing this! We had plans to go see the local hockey team play (free tickets as well) but stayed in to watch the Rangers game.

YAY for dates! It's been really fun so far & one of the most important things we budget for!
-Kells

gaining support & losing weight

hello dear friends!

As you all know we are in a season of raising support. Just a quick update on that...we are right about 28% verbally committed and in hand of our monthly amount. And around 15% our special need gifts. We are currently ahead of the set goals for us.

You may not be aware, but it normally takes a couple around 6 months-1 year to be fully funded. Our prayer is for February. I might have already mentioned this before, but join us in praying that we would be BACK ON CAMPUS by February. Another bold prayer that I would love for you to join us in, is that we would be at 50% by the time we head to Estes Park for a support conference we must attend. We leave for the conference October 9th. That means in 2 weeks & 3 days we would see 22% of our monthly support come in. That's a HUGE amount to be raised in 2 weeks, but being surrounded by support raising since being involved in Cru, I've seen crazier things happen. God can do big things.

We are heading to Wichita Falls on Friday for at least 8 days. We already have 12 appointments set up in that city & praying for more people to pick up their phones so we can get more appointments. And while we are on the topic of praying for our support, add that too. :)

So while the Lytle's are GAINING ministry partners, we are currently LOSING weight!

Teddy started the insanity work out back in August. He is now on week 5 of it. With this work out comes a meal plan/diet type thing. Really, it's very normal healthy things to eat, which has made it pretty easy to make the switch to healthier things. He eats 5 times a day...so that means I now eat 5 times a day. Small meals of course...but it was made my metabolism sky rocket. I haven't been near as active as Teddy is...shoot, he is working out 6 days of the week. I'm good if I make 1-2 days a week. But because of his diet change, mine has made a change too. Of course, I still have fried food every once and while (I can't give this up fully) but this is by far the healthiest I have eaten in pretty much my entire life. For me, I'm mostly more aware of my portions and calories.

Teddy has lost 11lbs and for sure inches. We forgot to do a before measure...whoops.
I have lost 5.5lbs and not so sure about any inches. I think I need to lose another 5lbs before I start noticing a difference in my clothes. :)

We are excited about it. The only thing that stinks is that eating healthy is more expensive. My parents are incredibly generous in buying our groceries while we are living with them, so that helps during this time. But while we are traveling, we are obviously buying our own groceries and it's becoming very clear how expensive this business is. But it's worth budgeting for once we get a budget set. We realize this now and will have to make adjustments.

I will keep you posted on all of the above.
Thanks for your prayers!!!
-Kells

Nefarious: Merchant of Souls

I have a billion things I could blog about right now. But I will start with Nefarious. I realizing more and more that I do in fact enjoy documentaries. This one completely captured my heart.

Teddy and I went to see it last Wednesday as part of our weekly date night. It was UNBELIEVABLE. Really, you won't understand unless you go see it. For those of you who missed it in Lubbock...there is a good chance that Teddy and I will be buying the DVD to share with our friends in our house eventually.

It's about the modern day slavery...sex trafficking. My eyes were opened to a part of society that I knew happened, but didn't understand the extent of it. I was slapped across the face at the thoughts I have had about prostitution. I was brought to tears out of pure joy listening to women share how Jesus has redeemed their story.

Watch this trailer for the movie


If you are in a city that they are playing the film I would HIGHLY encourage you to go. It's a FREE screening and about 1 1/2 hrs long.

Screening Tour Dates (you can also find it on their website):

Date City Venue
09/20/11 Burlington, Vermont University of Vermont- Burlington United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: Lafayette L207.
09/21/11 Hollywood, CA Radiance House of Prayer United States
Time: 7:00am. Address: 6121 Sunset Blvd, Studio 205T Hollywood, CA 90028.
09/22/11 Tyler, TX Tyler Junior College United States

09/22/11 Burlington, Vermont University of Vermont- Burlington
Time: 7:00pm. Address: Lafayette L207.
09/23/11 Tyler, TX University of Texas – Tyler United States

09/23/11 Los Angles, CA Northeridge House of Prayer United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: ” 19408 Londelius St., Northridge, CA 91324 “.
09/23/11 Hanover, NH Dartmouth University: Collis Common Ground
Time: 7:30pm. Address: Collis Center for Student Involvement, Hanover, NH.
09/24/11 Biola, CA Biola University-FireHouse of Prayer United States
Time: 1:00pm. Address: 13800 Biola Avenue La Mirada, CA 90639. Mayers Auditorium
09/24/11 Moriches, NY Lambs Chapel United States
Time: 6:00pm. Address: 25a Frowein Rd, Center Moriches, NY.
09/24/11 Malibu, CA Pepperdine University United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 24255 Pacific Coast Highway Malibu, CA 90263.
09/25/11 Bridgeton, NJ Carlls Corner Community Fellowship United States
Address: 1240 Hwy 77.
09/25/11 Valencia, CA Valencia House of Prayer United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 28452 Constellation Rd Valencia, CA 91355.
09/26/11 Philadelphia, PA Overflow Theater United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 7000 Terminal Square Upper Darby PA 19082.
09/27/11 State College, PA Pennsylvania State University: HUB Auditorium
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 201 Old main State College, PA.
09/28/11 Pueblo, CO Colorado State University-Pueblo United States

09/28/11 Freemont, CA Convergence HOP United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 40645 Fremont Blvd. #10a Fremont, CA 94538.
09/29/11 Colorado Springs, CO UCCS United States

09/29/11 St. Louis, MO Missouri Baptist University United States

09/29/11 San Francisco, CA Berkeley University United States
Time: 6:30pm.
09/30/11 Colorado Springs, CO New Life Church United States

09/30/11 Alexandria, VA DC Metro Church United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 1100 N. Fayette St. Alexandria, VA.
10/01/11 Denver, CO YWAM-Denver United States

10/02/11 Beaumont, TX Grace Community Church United States

10/02/11 Danville, CA East Bay Fellowship United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 2615 Camino Tassajara Danville, CA 94506.
10/02/11 Blacksburg, VA Virginia Tech United States
Time: 7:00pm.
10/03/11 Manhattan, KS Kansas State University United State

10/03/11 Blacksburg, VA Virginia Tech United States
Time: 7:00pm.
10/04/11 Duluth, MN University of Minnesota-Duluth United States

10/04/11 Mendocino, CA YWAM-Mendocino United States

10/04/11 Pasadena, TX Greater Harvest Church United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 2121 Genoa Red Bluff Rd Pasadena, TX 77505.
10/05/11 Perham, MN Comet Theater United States
Time: 6:30pm. Address: 146 1st Ave. S.
10/05/11 Mendocino, CA Grace Community United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: House Inn 10701 Palette Drive Mendocino, CA 95460.
10/05/11 Houston, TX St. John The Divine United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 2450 River Oaks Blvd. Houston, TX77019.
10/06/11 Minneapolis, MIN University of Minnesota United States
Address: 00 Washington Ave Se, Minneapolis, MN 55455.
10/06/11 Kingwood, TX Bethany Fellowship United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 3933 Woodland Hills Dr. Kingwood TX, 77339.
10/07/11 Bloomington, MN Bethany School of Missions United States

10/07/11 Houston, TX Ecclesia United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 2115 Taft St. Houston, TX 77006.
10/08/11 Houston, TX The Source for Women United States
Time: 1:00pm. Address: 6009 Richmond, Houston TX, 77057.
10/08/11 Fayetteville, NC Northwood Temple Church United States
Time: 6:00pm. Address: 4250 Ramsey St..
10/11/11 Mankato, MN Minnesota State University United States
Time: 6:30pm. Address: 117 Centennial Student Union Minnesota State University Mankato, MN 56001.
10/11/11 Mankato, MN Minnesota State University United States
Time: 8:45pm. Address: 117 Centennial Student Union Minnesota State University Mankato, MN 56001.
10/12/11 Jacksonville, FL Beaches Vineyard United States
Time: 6:30pm. Address: 751 Atlantic Blvd Atlantic Beach, FL 32233.
10/13/11 Miss State, MS Mississippi State United States
Time: 8:30pm.
10/13/11 - 10/14/11 Marion, IN Indiana Weselyan University United States

10/14/11 Orlando, FL Orlando House of Prayer United States
Address: 495 West Silver Star Road Ocoee, FL.
10/14/11 East Lansing, MI Michigan State University United States
Address: 1407 S Harrison Rd East Lansing, MI 48823.
10/14/11 Klamath Falls, OR Oregon Institute of Technology United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 3201 Campus Drive Klamath Falls, OR.
10/15/11 Rockford, IL Faith Center United States
Time: 2:00pm. Address: 4721 South Main Street.
10/15/11 Peoria, IL Bradley Epworth Church United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 1316 W. Columbia Terrace, Peoria, IL 61606.
10/16/11 Gainesville, FL University of Florida United States

10/16/11 Springfield, OR Life Church at Wayside Open Bible United States

Time: 5:00pm. Address: 5297 B street Springfield Oregon 97478.
10/17/11 Salem, OR Salem Vineyard United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 4750 Salem Dallas Highway Northwest Salem, OR 97304.
10/19/11 Lakeland, FL Southeastern University United States

10/20/11 Tacoma, WA Pacific Lutheran University United States
Address: 12180 Park Avenue S. Tacoma, WA 98447.
10/21/11 Toronto, ON Catch the Fire-Toronto Canada
Address: 272 Attwell Drive Toronto, ON M9W 6M3, Canada.
10/22/11 Stratford, ON Catch the Fire-Stratford Canada

10/22/11 Raymond, WA New Life Fellowship United States
Address: 323½ 3rd Street Raymond, Washington.
10/23/11 Sarasota, FL Restoration Fellowship United States
Address: 5614 Richardson Road Sarasota, FL 34232.
10/23/11 Elma, WA North West Life Center United States
Time: 5:00pm. Address: 1235 Monte Elma Rd. Elma, WA.
10/23/11 - 10/24/11 Toronto, ON Beraca International Canada
Address: 161 Princess Margaret Blvd. Etobicoke, ON, M9B 2Z4 Canada.
10/27/11 - 10/29/11 Seattle, WA TBA United States

10/28/11 Columbus, OH Ohio State University United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 1739 North High St. Columbus, OH 43210.
10/29/11 St. Louis, MO St. Louis University United States

10/30/11 Spokane, WA House of Prayer United States

10/30/11 Alexandria, VA DC Metro Church United States
Address: 1100 N. Fayette St. Alexandria, VA.
10/30/11 Bellington, WA House of Prayer United States

10/30/11 Bellingham, WA Bellingham House of Prayer United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 710 E Sunset Dr. Bellingham, WA 98225.
11/01/11 Bellington, WA University of Bellington United States

11/01/11 Big Rapids, MI Ferris State University United States
Address: BUS 111 Auditorium.
11/01/11 Mobile, AL University of South Alabama United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 307 University Boulevard Mobile, AL 36688.
11/02/11 Traverse City, MI Northwestern Michigan College United States
Address: Milkin Auditorium.
11/03/11 Mississippi TBA United States

11/04/11 Starkville, MS Mississippi State University United States

11/05/11 Saginaw, MI Saginaw Valley Church of the Nazarene United States
Time: 7:00pm. Address: 1815 Tittabawassee Rd. Saginaw, MI 48604.
11/08/11 Detroit, MI TBA United States

11/08/11 Greenville, SC North Greenville University United States
Address: 7801 North Tigerville Road Tigerville, SC 29688.
11/12/11 Brighton, MI Brighton Christian Church United States
Time: 8:00pm. Address: 4309 Buno Road Brighton, MI 48114.
11/13/11 Rochester Hills, MI Rochester Church of Christ United States
Address: 250 West Avon Road, Rochester Hills, MI 48306.


Really, go see this. GO GO GO!
-Kells

smartest choice ever

Throughout college & even after college I never really did a budget. I didn't see the point and quite frankly, I was lazy. It wasn't until I got married 1 1/2 years ago (WHOA, that long already!!!) that all that changed.

If you been reading this blog at all since we have been married you have read all about our budget & getting out of debt race. We did successfully pay off $12,746.25 in our first year of marriage. And honestly, had it not been for that debt I'm not sure we would've hopped into a budget as quickly as we did. Therefore, I'm grateful for that. I talked about our first budget set up here.

I came across this blog, via another blog that I follow (listed below in a recent post). I really enjoyed reading more about finances & budgeting. I think I could study that kind of stuff for hours at a time because I enjoy learning more about saving & creative ways to budget.

You want to know How to make a budget? <--click I really enjoyed what he said here. My favorite quote deals with shopping. I mean, what girl doesn't want the freedom to shop?...."The amazing thing is that by budgeting for fun stuff, it actually liberates you to spend money on these items. When you have money budgeted each month to buy clothes, the money is now sitting there waiting to be used for that assigned purpose. Suddenly you can go clothes shopping without feeling guilty!!"

We personally love the cash system. It has worked great for us.(But it may not be best for you) And we have made adjustments as we have been on this journey together. Even that post up there when we originally made our cash system has changed. It takes a lot of communication, compromise, and more communication. But I would say the area of finances is one that Teddy and I meet eye to eye on. It's truly by the grace of God, I know this. But man, having a budget that WE AGREE ON has made all the difference in the world.

Therefore, having a budget was the smartest choice we have ever made.
How about you?

-Kelli

If you have any questions let me know! We are very open about this. I think it's unfortunate that talking about finances is so "hush hush". Why not talk about our mistakes & creative ways we are making things work? We have learned from others who are open about such things, so we want to live the same.

NO technology hour

So there is a new rule in the Lytle home. Well, I say "rule" loosely because this is our testing week. But so far, so good.

The rule: Our first hour of being awake will be a technology free hour.

The main purpose: Is so that we can focus on the Lord, read scripture, discuss what we are learning (connecting spiritually as a couple), and pray first thing in the morning.

Why its necessary: I'm the type of person who will roll over in my bed, grab my smart phone and go through my routine (Facebook, Work email, Gmail, and Twitter). It forces me to "work" immediately when I wake up. I have messages to respond to. So what do I do? I get out of bed, get on my laptop to answer emails and waste mindless hours on there while the TV is on as well. HELLO DISTRACTION. What happens after this? My day gets going & I end up not spending any time with the Lord where there is absolute focus. Sure, I pray throughout the day...but I've realized over many years that it isn't enough for me.

We are two days in and already enjoying it. I will keep you posted.

What do you implement in order to have some focus time on the Lord daily?

-Kells

new blogs to follow

You can call me crazy if you want, but I often read about other families. If I can find a new blog to read that grabs my attention right off the bat & they update regularly then I'm usually sucked right in.

These three new blogs sucked me in because of a love story/advice (Todays Letters), precious kids this family had. And one girl adopted in that family (Andersons). And the fairy tale section of the other blog (The words of william). I think you will enjoy these blogs too which is why I'm sharing.

These blogs are popular enough to have sponsors. AKA they get paid to blog. Pretty sweet gig if you asked me.

Check em out...

Today's Letters : If you are married make sure you check out their Tuesday Question post on the left hand side. This is something Teddy and I are going to try! I love their letters they right. Short & Creative.

Words of Williams : Make sure to check out the fairy tale section. I read the whole thing in one setting. Plus, I love the honest way they approach life.

The Anderson's : NOthing specific to read here. Their family is just precious. 5 kids & one on the way. I love the first day of school blog from today. Made me laugh.

And just in case you aren't into family blogs (I've been reading this for a while, but can't remember mentioning it on here)...

Little Green Notebook : I enjoy this blog a lot. So creative & GREAT! She is always designing something & showing up homes!

-Kells

feeling left out

It's so bizarre to me that for the first time in the past 20 years I am not preparing for school starting in August. Yes, I've been graduated from college for almost four years (WHOA!) but working in college ministry means I'm still on a college school schedule.

There is a ministry retreat tomorrow, most schools are starting tomorrow. I've been watching my mom plan this whole weekend. My dad preparing some stuff here and there. Reading all these statuses about school starting. We went to Walmart tonight (stupid choice) to get groceries and were overwhelmed with parents & kids EVERYWHERE trying to scramble to get last minute things. I thought to myself, "I hope I'm never that mom. Waiting to the last minute." pshh I'm sure I will be eating my words when we have 5 kids to keep up with. (God willing)

Moving on...

I'm having a hard time knowing that we are here in Fort Worth, away from everything that I'm used to in the month of August. But I also know that we HAVE to do this (step away to raise support for a while), in order to be back on campus for the years to come, ready for all the new freshmen embarking on their college journey.

I know God has us here in this season of raising support for a reason. Not only for inviting others to invest in Kingdom things, but also a season of focus on our marriage. It's like a microscope has landed in my life & picking apart all the nasty sin that is buried so deep inside me. It's hard, but good.

Here's to another week of raising support...
-Kells

catch up time

It has been three weeks since my last post. We have gone from Fort Collins to Denver, Denver to Wichita Falls, WF to Lubbock, and in two days we will be headed to Fort Worth. this is just a TAD bit crazy.

We really enjoyed our summer in fort collins, but we were also excited to get back and start meeting with people to share about our ministry.

We spent a few days in Denver for some meetings. Had to take a quick trip to WF for some family stuff. In Lubbock we have had multiple meetings too. We have enjoyed getting together with people that have been supporting me the past 3 years and meeting with new people too! We have been incredibly encouraged in every appointment & loved talking about our passion!

One thing I do not enjoy is this dadgum HEAT in Texas. It's over 100 EVERYDAY. No rain. it's just plain sad! I'm SO grateful for air condition though.

On a day that it was 109, we were driving from New Mexico to WF and our car started acting up. I was driving on cruise control and it kicked off suddenly. I tried accelerating and it just wouldn't. So we pulled over & I called our insurance for road side. We don't have the coverage for that, but they were able to call the nearest towns to find a tow person. We sat there for probably 45 mins. Luckily, our A/C continued to work. We had a guy tow us 35 miles to Vernon. That tow cost us $200...SHEESH. From Vernon, Teddy's uncle/aunt came and attached a tow rope & took us the rest of the way to Wichita Falls. I wasn't exactly thrilled about that. We took our car to a mechanic only to have it sit there for a day & half before he would look at it. Once they got to it they couldn't get the car to act up. Our best guess is the fueling system is dirty/clogged. So we took the car, got premium gas (cha-ching!), and bought some cleaner stuff at the gas station. And we haven't had problems since then. We did one more tank of premium just to make sure and hoping for the best. I was told that you are suppose to clean your fuel system sometimes. I had never heard that in my entire life. So yes, cheap repairs..but expensive tow. :)

While in WF we went to a funeral too. A family friend of my family passed away suddenly. My parents even came up. We got to go to lunch with them and a big group of old church friends. It was fun to reconnect with those people. Plus, we were able to pass off many things from our car to my parents car. Making our load lighter & creating more space for clothes from our storage.

our life is crazy, seriously. I like structure & that's not what we have currently. But its only for a season. We are praying to be done raising all of our support in 6 months. That would be February of 2012. You can join us in praying for that specifically too! :) We would LOVE that!

-Kells

parents visit

Two weekends ago my parents came to visit Teddy and I in Fort Collins. They had actually been in Denver for around 2 weeks already, but our schedule was CRAZY. Therefore, we didn't see them even though we were an hour away.

They came up for our commissioning into Campus Crusade for Christ. I loved that they were here for that. They got to come to the ceremony and dinner.

Commissioning:




Our new couple friends!


The next day we met them for breakfast at The Egg and I...then we headed to spend the day in Denver. We went to a Rockies game (lost & ridiculously hot that day) and then had a family gathering at my aunt and uncles house in Denver. There were 14 family members present. It was a lot of fun. We had delicious grilled salmon--a nice break from dorm food.

Family Time:




Just missing Amy & Jason--Dad's family

We spent the night there, slept in until about 10am (nice change of pace) and then headed back up to FOCO to begin the nation wide conference.

I really enjoyed hanging out with them! :) Lucky for us we are living with them throughout this next semester. We will get plenty of family time!

-Kells

Campus Crusade for Christ name change!

We have been enjoying staff conference for this entire past week. We got to hear from Francis Chan, Rene Rochester, and a host of cru staff that are in leadership. Tenth Avenue North had a concert for us, Tim Hawkins did comedy last night (LOOK HIM UP!), and David Crowder Band is coming Monday night for a concert! Plus, David Platt is wrapping up our conference Tuesday night. It's been wonderful!

Last night we even got to celebrate the 60 year birthday of Campus Crusade!! We got to hear from the very first person to ever receive Christ under the Campus Crusade name (with Vonette Bright). She was a doll on stage. She had never worked for CRU, but she has been in ministry for years with her husband. She is at least 83 years old. Vonette turned 85 out here. She is still quick on her feet. Bill Bright passed away 8 years ago. I'm sad I never got a chance to meet him. It's amazing the respect so many people have for him. It is VERY clear he was a man of God who walked in the spirit. I have enjoyed hearing so many stories about him.

Tuesday night we got to experience an incredible thing. We heard the vision/reasons behind the new name change. And we were present when the name change was announced. I'm pretty sure this will go down in the history books. Especially with all this news coverage. The new name is cru. Our ministry at Texas Tech has called it Techcru for at least 15 years now. Nothing new for us.

I wish everyone could have been in the room when it was announced to the 5,000 staff. I love the new name. But, what I love more is the fact that our mission isn't changing...and it won't. We are a committed body of believers who want to see every person receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. It has become clear that changing the name will help us get closer to fulfilling The Great Commission.

Here are some great blogs on the topic:
Arkansas Men's cru director

Insight on Branding

If you have questions--let me know!
-Kells

busyyyy

It's been 10 days since my last update. That is because we were bombarded with MPD (ministry partner development) week. It was stinkin intense. But, Teddy and I feel prepared as we embark on our next adventure of asking people to join us in phttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifartnering to reach the campus for Christ. Our projected goal is to be done raising funds in 9 months. We are trusting God for whatever His plan is during this process.

We will be living with my parents in Fort Worth during this time. We plan to spend a few months in Lubbock too, just waiting to see plans pan out. We will most likely be taking trips to Iowa Park/Wichita Falls, Houston, Lubbock, and Midland. We are actually pretty excited about this next chapter of our life.

Something that gets me fired up is THIS VIDEO. Take a moment (little over 4 mins) to watch & be encouraged. (click on "this video" to watch)

They showed this video today during our US National staff conference. LOVE it. Our conference has been great too. We are pretty worn out with the entire summer, but loving the speakers and worship. I will expand on alll this later.

Coming soon on the blog:
-Time with my parents in Ft.Collins/Denver
-New Name for Campus Crusade for Christ

We leave next Wednesday! Can't believe this time is already approaching. We have LOVED it here.

-Kells

Estes Park & MPD

We had such a wonderful weekend!

We went up with 5 other couples to Estes Park in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was beautiful! We stayed at a wonderful cabin just a few miles above the well known YMCA campsites. It was PERFECT. We ate real food, had great conversations, played board games and salad bowl (girls won both rounds!, saw wildlife, did a little shopping (both got Estes Park tshirts), and walked away feeling refreshed!


(Left to right) Harris & Kristin Britt (Texas), Us :), Andrew & Bonnie Burger (California), Kai & Lauren Pottenger (California), Adam & Alyssa Nixon (California), and Alex & Jess Ethridge (Illinois)

GREAT!

Which leads into this crazy week we are about to experience. Even just today we were in the same building from 8am-5pm...in meetings (lecture basically) about Ministry Partner Development (MPD), went to dinner, then had to make phone calls starting around 6:30-7:30pm. L.O.N.G.D.A.Y. And that is what the rest of our week will look like. We were told in advance that this week is INTENSE. So we knew that, but I'm still shocked at how tired I am right now. But this is some of the best training we could possibly receive. So for that, I'm grateful. I'm truly trying to soak everything in again.

Will you join us in praying for this week? We will need endurance & motivation. Plus, we are working on our support presentation as a team for the first time...this clearly can create issues. (especially for me--I've already raised support for my salary 3 years in a row, so OF COURSE I know what is "right"--hahah...hilarious.) Pray that our strengths and weaknesses would work well together. Pray that we would be diligent in prayer for our potential and current partners.

Also--we are around $3,000 short for this summers expenses. Everything gets drafted in two weeks from our staff account...meaning we will go into the negatives currently = no paychecks too. PRAY that we would be faithful in following up with those who said they wanted to give for this summer and for people that we just need to follow up with about our initial letter sent out. I truly believe that money can come in during the last 2 weeks. It's just finding time to do it.

Thank you SO much for your prayers!!! :)
-Kells

a lovely (long) list

So, a week or more has gone by since my last REAL update. I do recognize that the post are mostly what we have been doing and such...but my life isn't normal right now. so maybe you find it interesting that I'm just writing about our day to day life. Who wouldn't find it interesting that a married couple is living in a dorm with a bunch of other married couples and using community bathrooms? FUN! Oh and the fact that we eat every meal with friends? It's kind of like a dream come true for an extrovert. :)

Either way...enjoy!

1) You might have read on FB that Teddy practically broke his body a week ago. He was running while playing softball for intramural and strained his right hamstring. He reached down to grab his leg with both hands while falling and landed on his left shoulder. And some how twisted his ankle in the midst of all this. I wasn't there to see it happened, which I definitely think made me more calm when I showed up on the scene. We went to the doctor this past Tuesday and found out that he DOESN'T have to have surgery. PRAISE HIM! We prayed for this many times.

2) On going learning: God is so wonderful. Our insurance for Teddy's old job ended on June 30 & Crusade started on July 1st. This is a big deal because I pushed for us to be hired early (june 1st) so that our insurance would start July 1st. I wasn't up for a lapse in insurance...and wala...there was a reason why I felt this overwhelming need to MAKE SURE. We were on the old jobs insurance for our ER visit when he broke his body initially. Then for this past Tuesday we were with Crusade insurance. It ran over flawlessly. We are patiently awaiting bills...BUT again, praise Jesus for NO surgery and NO MRI. Bring on the bills--anything will be a blessing at this point. :)

3) Class is officially over (Tuesday was our final for theology). It was HARD work for 2 solid weeks. But even in that, we walked away with a new perspective in studying scripture, which made the Gospel even more beautiful. There were definitely moments in the midst of studying where my heart was captured by God's grace. That's pretty neat to be doing school work & that occur! We both passed both classes with flying colors! yahoo!

4) This weekend we are headed to a cabin in Estes Park with 4 other couples! We are pumped to take a weekend away from the dorm/dorm food/demands of a busy schedule. Hopefully, Teddy and I will be able to go on a small hike...his hammy is healing well. We will see! :)

5) So in my post about our placement I mentioned what a crazy ride our "placement" week was. So to make a long story short--we came here thinking we were for sure going back to Texas Tech. Then all the new staff were challenged to consider going to Miami or LA to help with the Destino (Latino/Hispanic movement) grow. We prayed and processed and were HIGHLY considering moving to Miami.(NOT A JOKE!) But through the wisdom of older staff people, really processing with the Lord and each other, crying because of confusion (me of course!) we landed on being 100% ok with being back at Texas Tech...and that is exactly where they placed us. We are thrilled! Miami would have been cool, but really...I would probably miss the dirt storms of Lubbock ;)

6) I'm learning more and more my need for me time. It doesn't happen often--but here it does. We are surrounded by people every where we go. I would much rather just come back to our room and just chill. I'm also learning that Teddy isn't really like that. He enjoys knowing what's going on and how we can be apart of it. He doesn't want to miss anything fun! Kind of crazy how I'm just discovering this about him, but we haven't been in this setting with people around at all times.

7) Still loving our dorm floor. Just last night the girls and guys spent time together. Us ladies (9 of us) went hot tubbing for a little bit and then came back to the dorms, sat outside and talked for a long while. I love that we all can understand each others worlds. I walked away from our conversation feeling refreshed in my heart and encouraged about marriage in general.

This is the first night I will actually be asleep by 11:30. So I'm out of here.
-Kells

a.l.m.o.s.t. there...

I'm sitting here right now trying to finish our last day of homework and it's killing me. KILLING ME. I've already been doing this since 3:15pm. It's currently 9:35pm. We did take a dinner break from 6:15-7:00. LAST NIGHT. (until our final on Tuesday...)

This is our bed currently...


We have been working on two separate projects today. One paper for theology that took me a while. And now we are writing a Bible study on Ephesians 2:1-10. This is the part that is mostly killing me. :)

I will call this my break.
back to it.

-Kells

drum roll please....

We are officially headed to Texas Tech University!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) Our best friends (brett/kim)aren't, but we knew that was happening a long time ago, just didn't know where. I'm not going to say where they are going yet, because she hasn't even blogged about it yet. Just know that it's far. :( But we are SOO happy for them too! :) I've already done research on their new city because I don't have much to research on Lubbock...considering I've lived there since 1998. PLUS, I love researching the cities my friends are moving too. What a journey & blessing it has been leading up to this one day to learn our "new" locations. We are excited to be heading back to Lubbock, Texas to continue our ministry there.

We have been in Colorado for 2 weeks now. I haven't posted many pictures...so consider this our little journey from day one to now...

Enjoy!

We had just entered New Mexico...I missed the actual sign...whoops :)

Church with grandma in Denver


Our Bed & Breakfast adventure. It was a blast!








Red Rocks Amphitheater--we stopped here on the way back to Denver from our B&B




Our journey to Fort Collins

Lunch with Brett & Kim in Denver before heading up...


Our dorm

Excited!


Our first Saturday we hiked up Horsetooth Reservoir...

Beautiful view from the top. It took quite a bit of encouragement for me to make it there. Teddy was a trooper! :) This is a little over 7,000 ft up. AMAZING!


Our date night this past Saturday (talked about in previous blog post)


Here comes last week of classes...
Night!
-Kells