"The Word is Alive"

So every year I am in charge of putting together two major performances with my students. One the first semester and then again the second semester. This year God has really blessed me with some great ideas.

The theme this year is "The Word is Alive" and I try to incorporate every form of worship arts that I can. That can be hard to do with such a variety of ages from 3yrs to 8th Grade.

This is a way that we open up to the community and invite them to the performance. It will be held on Tuesday night 11-18-08 at 6:30pm at Harmony Hill Baptist Church Worship Center.

Here is a run down of what the program will be:

PreK3-4 will be doing thier own version of a VeggieTales Movie. The songs include: The VeggieTales Theme Song, a few funny skits from Bob and Larry, God is Bigger, My Day, and also the song What we have learned today.

Kindergarten will be doing some great hula hand motions to two songs from Outrigger Island. They are Let my actions match my Passion, and Wiki Wiki.

1st- Will be doing a blacklight dance with hats and gloves to the song Enemies Camp.

2nd- Blacklight streamers and gloves with sign language to the song Today is the Day

3rd-Blacklight dowel rods to the song Shine Jesus Shine by Crystal Lewis. (i know that is an old song but it goes great with the dance they are doing with yellow blacklight dowel rods.)

4th- An awesome painting/Drama to the song God is God by Steven Curtis Chapman.

5th/6th-A Boxing Match/Drama between Jesus and Satan to the song The Champion by Carmen.

7th/8th-Drama about the miracles of Jesus but related to todays time to the song The Word is Alive by Casting Crowns.

Every class has a different attire to wear that matches what they are doing and then the stage will be completly clear and have black petitions all across the back. Then there will be a huge Bible that is being buildt. The Bible will have a center piece that the students will walk out of for thier performance. Also, above the Bible in really big words will be my Theme: "The Word is Alive" Also, I have a guy that is coming to paint the Bible and put scripture on it to make it look very realistic. The cool part is that during the blacklight performances the scriptures from the Bible as well as my Theme above the Bible will glow in the dark also. Symbolizing that even in dark times the Bible can be our source of light.

So that is why I have not been blogging much. This a project that for the most part I put together on my own. I type all power points, put together any video that need to be done, make up the programs, find my tech people, get costuming, stage makeup, put together what each class will be doing, teach everything to all students, in charge of backdrop design ideas, etc.

It is a huge undertaking but this is what I was designed to do and I love every bit of it.

The Fitness Gram

I am taking a class this semester called PE for elementary ed students. Today we had to take the Fitness Gram. Now, I am not an unhealthy person but I definately do not consider myself an athlete by any means. So, when she said that we were going to have to do things like sit ups, push ups, timed laps etc. all I could do was laugh and then warn my fellow class mates that watching me take this fitness gram would be comical for them. So I show up this morning very nervous. By the way did I mention that I am in a class with 2 basketball players, 2 baseball players, a ex-marine, and a personal trainer. So how do you think I am feeling. Very unathletic.

So we take the PACER which is the timed laps. You have a certain amount of time to get to point A to point B. This totals about 8 laps. That was level one. When you begin level two your time picks up so you have a shorter amount of time to get to point A and B. That is an additional 8 laps. Then you move to Level 3, 4 and so on. It actually goes all the way to completing 150 laps. Believe it or not I completed all the way to level 4. Which means I ran 24 laps. GO ME. Then after they brought in my oxygen tank and gave me water we waited for the last guy to finish. He finished at lap 101. I was amazed. Some people just like to show off.

Then we moved to some stretches, checking body fat, etc which I did better than I thought on that also.

Next, we moved on to curls or sit ups. Now, I practiced doing these 2 nights ago and could only do 8 but today I actually did 50. I know there are people that can do many more than that but you have to understand that the only sit ups I do during the day are the ones I need to do to get my self out of bed in the morning.

Lastly, we did push ups. I can be honest here and say I did as well as I thought I would. A whopping 3 pushups was all I could do.

Hey, I am just glad it's over and I can bet you that I am going to be feeling the burn still in the morning and the next day, and the next day, and the next, well you get the picture.

See You at the Pole

Yesterday was See You at the Pole. All HCS students gathered around the flag pole at8:30am to pray and worship. Now, I don't really claim to be a praise and worship leader like some the great leaders I know such as Todd Wright, Paul Baloche, etc. But I do however love picking songs that i know the students will love and watching them sing from their heart and worship uninhibited.

We usually have 1-2 students per class come up and pray for things such as the President, the leaders of our country, our freedom, the soldiers, leaders of our cities, leaders of our churches, leaders of our schools, and for direction for HCS. Then we worship in between each class. So I thought that I would share with you the songs that I picked for our worship yesterday. I did not know how fitting and appropriate they would be to the situation our school is facing until that morning when we sang the songs and instead of worshipping I was crying. It is amazing how God does that. So here are my songs:

Make it Loud- Deluge-the students love this song and they definately make it loud.

All Because of Jesus I'm Alive- Casting Crowns-This was a fun one that all age levels really like.

Your Name-Philips, Craig, and Dean- My students have known this one for a while and they sing it from their heart. It is awesome to see them lifting their hands, closing thier eyes, and just worshipping from the heart.

I Surrender All- Israel Houghton-From the movie "Amazing Grace"- This was kinda new to the students but they sang as much as they could but told me during class that they loved that song and want to learn it. So thats what we did in music class yesterday with my 7th/8th Grade class. We worshipped some more.

Today is the Day-Lincoln Brewster-The students and teachers like this one and there was some dancing going on during this one.

We ended with that song, said one more quick prayer to dismiss and went to our classes. I have to say that is was an awesome feeling after it was over to know that God used me to pick songs that ministered and spoke to not only myself but to those that were there that day. I absolutely love when that happens.

My Week!!

Just thought I would give you a quick run down of my week so that everyone could feel sorry for me. No, really so that you could pray for me to make it through.

Monday Work till 3:30 then attend and watch my husband coach HCS soccer game at 4:30 at LHS. Take my kids to thier soccer practice at 6pm. Home to cook supper, get homework for 2 kids, baths, and hopefully in the bed at a decent hour.

Tuesday School until 1pm. Then to HCS for work and VIP staff meeting at 2:30-5pm. HCS soccer practice at 5:30. Home to cook supper, get homework for myself and 2 kids, baths, etc etc.

Wednesday Work until 3:30 then home to change and back at church for Awanas and Children's Choir at 5:30. Home by 8:30 to get baths, supper and in the bed at another decent hour hopefully.

Thursday School until 1pm. Then off to HCS to work. Then home at 3:30 to change and then to HCS soccer game at 4:30. Then DW and I play softball at 7pm. We play 2 softball games then home to finish homework for myself, and 2 kids, dinner will be at the ballpark tonight, baths, etc etc.

Friday Work until 3:30. Then I have cheer practice from 3:30-5pm. Then home to hopefully crash and get ready for Saturday.

Saturday Girls have soccer game not sure the time yet and then we leave to go to do our ministry with the homeless in Houston. Home around 5pm. DW has prayer meeting at 8pm. I will spend the rest of my Saturday cleaning the house, washing, getting things ready for next week, and doing my homework. Hopefully and probably will fall asleep doing my homework.

Sunday Church, Church, Church then home to get ready to start over next week.

So there is my week. Will need lots of prayer. Hope everyone has a great week.

The Shack!!

Ok so I am behind everyone else on reading the Shack but just remember I have 3 kids, one of which is 3 and is a boy which means he is into destroying anything that he comes in contact with so reading becomes very little while he is awake.

Now, about the book. I absolutely loved it. I laughed but mostly cried through most of it. This book changed my thinking in many ways. The part that spoke to me the most was when he was meeting with Jesus on the docks and Jesus told Mac he would have to walk on water with him to get to the other side where they were going. The fear Mac had subsided the minute his feet hit the water and he didn't sink. That spoke volumes to me simply because I feel that is what God is asking of my husband and myself. He wants us to have enough faith to step off the dock onto the water. To cast our fears aside and step out on faith and see that he is right there beside us walking with us so that we will not drown. WOW!

The other part that I loved was the picture of seeing Missy, his daughter, playing and skipping rocks and Jesus being right there in the middle of all of his kids. What a beautiful picture. That is the picture I want as a parent to remain in my head. We try so hard to protect our children from danger. But, all along God is with them, playing with them, walking with them and taking care of them. I will always fail as a parent. But thanks to the mercy and goodness of God he steps in and takes over for us and becomes the parents that we sometimes can't be. Not only is it a beautiful picture of Jesus with the children, our chidren, but it is a picture of Jesus with us. We are to come to him like a child, his child, and run into his arms and feel the love and the joy that He wants us to experience when we are smack dab in the middle of his love and his will.

This book was great for me and am so glad I read it. Yes, there were a few things that I questioned about the book that I was unsure of biblically. But, I believe God allowed me to read and understand the parts He wanted me to and all the rest he will strike from my mind if it is not of him or if it is unnecessary for me to understand.

So, this summer I have read 2 books. For me that is great. I am not a reader nor do I really have time to read but these 2 books were books that God placed in my path and had me read. I have shared these books with others and they have been blessed by them.

Book #1- Reedeming Love- a novel about the story of Hosea, and the prostitute. A wonderful book about how much God loves us and how he continues to redeem his bride.

Book #2- The Shack- a novel about a man who takes a journey back to the shack and how this journey is a journey of healing and re-turning back to God.

Hope you are able to take the time to read these books and if there are any great books out there like these then please tell me about them. I am hungry for more. I guess you could say that I have become a reader of more than just college books.

Hurricane Ike

Well the storm has passed and we were blessed. We have no electricity but all of our trees are still standing just a few limbs in our yard and a lot of yard work ahead of us. Sadly, there were those who were not so lucky. As we were driving around looking at the damage there were those who had trees right through the center of thier home. It's hard to understand why such a terrible thing could happen but I pray that the Lord will comfort these people in a time of darkness and many questions. Such is the case for Harmony Chrisitian School. We were in the process of building a new school for the Fall of 2009-2010. The staff of HCS have been working VERY hard towards accredidation for the last 3 years. This year was our final year and we were going to be moving into our new school in the summer as well as recieving our accredidation this summer also. The last 3 years has been very stressful on the whole staff of HCS and to be honest with you I have always had many questions about the whole thing of a new building and accredidation. Is this the right path HCS should take? Is accredidation the right decision for our school? These are questions I have always had. That doesn't mean that I haven't done my part to work hard in writing my own curriculum, lesson plans, teaching, etc.

I don't know what God has in store for HCS, accredidation, new building etc. But what I do know is that God has a plan and we need to make sure that we are heeding to his word and that we are on our face daily making sure that we aren't making decisions in haste. I pray for those in leadership that have to make these decisions that they would know God's will like the back of thier hand. That every decision they make will be for the sake of the students and not just what is best financially. I know that money makes the world go round but sometimes we don't need money to do God's will we just need to make sure that we are in line with His plan and not asking that He is in line with ours.

Please pray for HCS and those that will be having to make hard decisions in the next days, weeks, months ahead. Pray for the students, staff, parents, school board, administration, and principal. We believe God is an almighty God and even though to us this looks bad, we have to remember that everything works for good for those who love him and seek his face. Pray that we don't loose sight of that.

More to Come!!

I know I have not blogged in a while but to be honest with you I don't really have anything interesting to say. But have no fear SPLAT Ministries will be ministering in a different area in a few weeks at Stephen's Court and we will report on how things went. Also, I have some great pics from our VBS last month that I will be posting soon so please be patient and don't stop checking in we will be posting more things soon.

My Wednesday!!!

Well, yesterday was the first day of school and all in all it went very smoothly. It really hit home for me yesterday morning how fast my girls are growing up. Seeing them in thier new rooms and McKenzi standing at her locker caused a huge lump in my throat. My girls are really growing up. Lots of responsibilities for McKenzi this year with homework and science projects due every 9 weeks. We have had Madison tested for dyslexia and should be getting the reports back soon but my gut feeling says she has dyslexia. If that really is the case then there is going to have be alot of work put into first of all keeping her self esteem up and then alot of work put into homework each night. I am so blessed by my children and each day they get a little smarter and seeing them yesterday just showed me how precious each day is with them and not only with my 2 girls but with my sweet little boy who is 3 but feels like he was just born yesterday.

Also, yesterday evening Scott Foster had asked me to do a Monologue for a group of people that he was going to be speaking for. Of course, I agreed and showed up at around 6:30pm. The place was First Assembly and the group was called "Most Excellent Way"

This was a group of people who are recovering from drugs and alcohol and are seeking to make a God change in thier life. I have to be honest and say I was a nervous wreck. I did not know what to expect. Scott told me it was just like the people we minister to on the streets of Houston and at Brandon Park but for some reason for me it was different.

When it was my turn to get up and do my Monogologue I could not even remember the first line and I feel like I had stammered over every word trying to remember what came next and felt that I repeated some lines but after it was all said and done I feel that the Lord used it to minister to those in the room and DW said that it was the best I had ever done so I know the Lord used me.

The beginning of alot of internal healing took place last night in my eyes. This was my first time to be at a group such as this and I felt that the Lord really ministered to everyone in that room. Scott Foster did a great job speaking and he had the opportunity to lay hands and pray over every one in that room personally and it was great.

I love being a part of something like that. I love the fact that God is using me to minister to people like that. I pray he will continue to use me. I will be going back to do another Monologue for them in October and DW will be speaking that night.

I was exhausted when I got home and the devil tried to rob my joy of a great day because when I walked out of that building my head was pounding and by the time I got home it had basically turned into a full migraine and by the time I got in bed I don't even remember falling asleep.

First Day of School!!

Well tomorrow starts the beginning of a new school year for me and my 2 girls. Mckenzi will be in the 4th grade and Madison is in the 3rd grade. This year is going to be very hard for Mckenzi. Lots of tests, quizzes, and projects to do this year. Both of my girls are smart and I know that they can achieve anything as long as they seek after God. Mom and Dad are going to have to do a lot more praying for them also.

For me it is a bitter sweet, while I feel I did not have much of a summer I am excited what God is going to do this year for me personally and what he is going to do in the life of each student as well as the life of HCS. I am excited about seeing all the old faces and see how much they have grown over the summer and also to get to know the new faces of the ones God has sent our way this year.

Please pray that I will be more bold, minister more to the kids, find more opportunities to minister to the kids, and to enter a new level of worship with each of these kids. This year I am focusing more on teaching the kids the meaning of authentic worship for each one of them. I pray that each student will discover what thier authentic worship is for them.

God has great things in store for this year and I am excited to be a part of it and to see how it will unfold.

Along with that please pray for me because the path God is choosing to take me down is not for the faint of heart and I want to stay faithful to him so please pray that I will stay faithful in the little things and that when I grow weary that I will look to God to fill me back up so that I can continue again to give out to these kids.

My heart is full of love for these kids and I am excited to get to know them on a personal level. It thrills me to know that even outside of the classroom they love to be around me and they speak to me. I love that.

So, here we go!!

The Dark Night!

I know I am behind everyone else but I took some kids to see the Dark Night last night. These were older kids so it was ok and thier parents agreed to let me take them so I am in the clear. I have never really been a Batman fan nor have I watched all of the 37 Batman movies that have come out over the years but for some reason I really wanted to see this one and I am so glad I did. I was so impressed with Heath Ledger. What an extremely hard part to play but I couldn't think of anyone who has played it better in my opinion. Jack Nicholson did an excellent job but Heath Ledger still by far blew him out of the water.

This movie kept my attention the entire time. But then again the tub of popcorn we bought to eat held alot of my attention also. Man I love movie popcorn. The only thing missing was the M&M's to mix in with the popcorn but after buying the $15 tub of popcorn I couldn't afford the M&M's. But back to the movie. I was impressed with everything about the movie except for the Batman. I am not at all impressed by him. His acting skills were not that great and what was up with the voice when he became batman. It sounded like a possessed Batman.

Maybe it is because I was just so impressed by the joker that I just didn't see much about batman. Or maybe I just have a thing for bad guys. I don't know.

Either way, the movie was excellent and I have now become a Batman or Joker Fan and plan to go see the next one that comes out if there is one.

So, there is my opinion about the Dark Night, better late than never.

This could be my last blog!!!

Well, it is official. My summer is over. I start back to work Monday morning at 8:30am. Once the school year starts I will be so busy with work, church, children, cheerleading, school, and ministry I will probably forget to blog. Not that any of you really care but let me just run down the list of how my day will go once school starts back.

First of all just having to get up at 5:30am every day is a challenge because I love to sleep. Then it's rush, rush, rush to get everybody dressed, fed, lunches made and on duty by 7:15. Now, I only work Monday, Wednesday, and Friday but I a still responsible for getting my kids up and out the door and to school by 8am.

Monday Schedule
7:15 on duty to recieve kids.
8:15 begin teaching my first music class of prek-3 and continue teaching until 3pm
3:30- 6pm Cheer practice with my cheer team.
6pm home to do homework with 2 kids, cook supper, get baths, wash a load of laundry, clean kitchen, brush teeth, get lunches, clothes, backpacks ready for the next day. Spend some time together as a family and then send the kids to bed by 8:30pm and if we are lucky DW and I get to bed by 10pm.

Tuesday
Rise and shine and get kids fed, clothed, and to school by 8am.
8am get my self dressed and Mason dressed.
9:30 Take Mason to Mrs. Natalies (his babysitter) and then head off to AC for PE for elementary ed children. This class is 11:25-12:45. Get to HCS to do some work until staff meeting at 3:30-5pm then off to soccer practice with Mckenzi and Madison. Then home to do our usual night time routine.

Wednesday
Same as Monday schedule but add church to that from 5:30-9pm. Then home for our usual night time routine.

Thursday
Same as Tuesday schedule

Friday
Same as Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule.

But don't forget to add in there that DW is coaching soccer for HCS and they have games in September and October on the weeknights and my cheerleaders are cheering for all basketball games in December and January.

I also have a musical to put on in November and then Choir competition in February along with another musical in February also.

Also, along with the day class I am taking at AC I am taking an online coarse from AC Composition and Literature.

Then on the 2nd Saturday we have Brandon Park
3rd Saturday we have SPLAT Ministries
4th Saturday we have the homeless we feed in Houston.

Now do I tell you all of this to brag on myself? Not at all because I absolutely love my job at HCS. I do not consider it a job at all, I consider it a ministry. I love what I do and I know that is what I am suppose to be doing.

The AC schooling is not necessarily my decision but I believe that God has put my back against the wall to push me to do it or else I would not be doing it. So, he is giving me the Grace to make it through and with straight A's at that. It is only by the Grace of God that I am able to continue with college.

Then I believe that God has added this new ministry of SPLAT ministries to be able to minister to even more kids.

Do I get tired? Of course, just like each one of you gets tired from time to time. But I would not have it any other way.

I am with my kids everyday, I know what they are learning, I see them in every competition, in every play, I am very much involved in their daily lives and getting paid for it. So it isn't so bad. I love what I do.

Am I dredding going back? Yes, just because the summer went by so fast, but once I get back into the swing of things I will be fine.

So maybe I will blog on the events of my life from time to time but hopefully, they won't be as long as this one.

Last Night of VBS at Brandon Park

Tonight was the last night of VBS. I was elated at the number of kids that were there tonight. All in all we had about 35-40 kids and we handed out about that many backpacks full of school supplies. I so much enjoyed this VBS. It was so nonstressful and so awesome to be able to talk to these kids and for them to call me by name. We definately entered a new level with these kids this week and I am so excited.

The sad thing about these kids is that most of the parets were dropping off kids at the park and the ages ranged from 2-13. Usually the older syblings were in charge of taking care of the babies and the parents just let them go and roam the streets even at that young age.

I felt myself getting very tearful several times tonight because of 2 reasons:
1) That God blessed this ministry this week and allowed so many kids to be a part of this. I know I said it last night but I have to say it again. I am truly in awe that God allowed me to minister to these kids and get to know them on a more personal level.

2) It hurts my heart so much to see some of these kids that want to be loved by someone. I have recieved more hugs from these kids in the last 3 nights than I have any where else. These are kids that most people would label problem kids or kids that are hopeless but in my eyes they are kids that are going to be leaders some day and they need someone to show them how to direct that negative energy into positive energy and how to use that energy to Glorify God.
My heart is very satisfied, but yet very heavy for these kids. I can honestly say that I truly love each and every one of these kids passionately and I can't wait to get to know them even more and see what thier gifts and abilities are so that we can show them how to use them.

I know this is alot to read in one blog, but I promise you I could talk for days about these kids and I would ask that every now and then when you think about it, please pray for the kids in Brandon Park. God is doing something awesome over there and I am honored to be a small part of it.

Starting in September we are going to move over, in addition to Brandon Park, to Stephen Court on Denman. We know of several low income kids in that area that no one is ministering to them so we are hoping we can begin to start building relationships there so please be praying.

I am tired but this is a good tired and I will take this kind of tired any day of the week.

Thanks to those who take interest in this ministry and any time any of you would like to come out and see what we do, or just to help out and visit with these kids then feel free to come out any time.

We are at Brandon Park on the 2nd & 3rd Saturday of this month and then in September we will be at Brandon Park the 2nd Saturday and then at Stephens Court on the 3rd Saturday of every month. Times are 9am-1pm every time.

God Bless!!!!!

Second Day of VBS

Today was the 2nd day of VBS. We were down quite a bit from last night but I think it was due to the weather and the threat of storms coming our way. We still had a great time and it was very smooth and non stressful. We presented the gospel to the kids tonight but I did not feel the need to pray the prayer with them and the reason is this. We discovered last night that these kids have little to no knowledge of the Bible, much less who God is. We presented the gospel from his birth all the way to his resurrection. We talked a little about how to recieve Christ as thier savior and then reassured them that if they have questions to talk to any of the leaders there tonight or tomorrow night. But I felt very strongly that after having only 2 days of Bible stories that these kids were not ready to make that strong of a commitment and I want them to fully understand the decision they are making. But seeds were planted and many relationships were buildt tonight and that is very important in order for these kids to really recieve what we are wanting to share with them.

One of the leaders is doing a great job of taking pictures of everything so I hope that we will be able to share photos soon.

Tomorrow is the last night and we will be handing out school supplies so I expect many kids to show up.

God was very good tonight. It could have stormed all night but it did not and we were able to have a very succesful VBS. God has truly blessed the last 2 nights and I know he will continue to bless tomorrow night. Thank you, Jesus, for blessing this ministry and allowing me the opportunity to be a part of all these kids lives. I truly am in awe of how God chooses to use me.

SPLAT VBS

SPLAT Ministries had it's first ever VBS at Brandon Park tonight. We will continue through Wednesday night and at the end of Wednesday we will hand out backpacks full of school supplies. I was praying that God would send 50 kids buy I was also thinking that even 30 would be awesome. Tonight, we had 49 kids show up. I was elated. God truly answered. I did however discover that an outside VBS is very difficult to do. Simply because these are kids who on a daily basis do not have parental involvent in thier life nor do they have adult discipline in thier life so the least distraction was a problem. We are hoping to rent out the community center that is located right there at the park for the next two nights. Our plan is to have our worship rally inside with music, prayer, and scripture time, and then move outside for crafts, snacks and games. I am praying this will improve the attention of the kids during the worship time.

Tomorrow is the night that we will be presenting the gospel to the kids. There will be adults there to talk with them and to pray with them so if there are any decisions that are made we will know that they are genuine and not decisions made because the person next to them raised thier hand.

I am excited about what God is doing within this ministry and I pray that he continues to grow it into whatever he wants it to become. I pray that this is just the beginning of many seeds planted in the lives of these children and children still to come.

Youth Scavenger Hunt

Tonight was the youth Scavenger Hunt. It was extremely fun. I had 5 high school girls in the mom mobile tonight. We had to drive all around town and take pictures of all these things they had listed on the piece of paper. For example, one was to take a picture of the group trying on clothes in either bealls or JCPenneys. Then get a picture of a security guard that worked at the mall, or go to Lowe's and get a picture of the group inside the portable buildings, or find a port-o-potty and take a picture of the group inside a the potty. Needless to say I have not laughed that hard in a long time. It brought back memories of when I was in the youth group and all the stupid but funny things we did.

There were 43 things on the list and we managed to make it back on time with having completed 34 things on the list. See my mom mobile can hit 90 miles an hour if the need arises and tonight the need arose. Now, I can also say that my mom mobile is smoking because litterly, when we got back to the church my van was seriously smoking. I think it was my breaks but we will find out tomorrow when we take it to the shop. Also, did I mention that instead of letting the group get a picture with her the mall security guard lady told us we had to leave the mall because we were being to loud and running too much. We explained what we were doing but she still felt the need to escort us to the exit. Oh, well.

By the way my group finished in 2nd place. See, I am still cool.

MY FRIDAY........

My Friday was a little more interesting than last Friday.

I slept until about 9am and then got up to drink my morning coffee and do my devotional out side on my front porch. I knew I had a few things to do today so I went ahead and got dressed and cleaned the house. We ate lunch with DW and then headed into town. Our first stop was to Angelina Eye Center to pick up my new Oakley sunshades. I have some special connections there so I was abl to get them for a discounted price. I then went from there to drop my middle child, Madison off to a friend where she was spending the night. The other two kids wanted to play at the waterpark so I decided to take them. I thought that would be a good time to begin reading a book I have been wanting to read. So I stop off at Corner Stone to pick up the book "Redeeming Love" to read. It is an 800 page fictional book but is a wonderful correlation of how God continues to love us no matter what we have done and where we have been. It is wonderful so far and have found my self crying through much of it. Ladies, if you have not read this book yet, I would recommend it highly.

So, we spent a few hours at the water park and I really enjoyed it. The kids played and I sat in the shade and actually got to read for several hours and didn't have the stress of a time schedule. Once the kids were ready to go, I changed them and then took them to get a snowcone from the snowcone place parked in the mall parking lot. We stayed and visited there for a while and then left to meet DW at home. We then went to Sam's to get things we need to go to Houston tomorrow. (We feed 500-600 homeless under the bridge by minute maid park). Then after Sam's we went to visit my sister in law in Huntington. This was meant to be a short visit but we ended up staying until 11pm. Thier nieghbors have puppies that they are giving away and so my husband and I had to fight off two crying children because they wanted to take home a puppy.( I know, I am such a mean mother,but I do not want another dog.)

Then on the way home, Madison calls crying wanting to come home because she does not want to spend the night. So we go pick her up and then head home.

We get home at 12am, throw kids into the bath, and then into the bed, and then, DW and I collapse into bed around 2am.

Wow! I didn't know how busy my day was until I go to type it up on my blog.

McKenzi's First Cabbage

Mckenzi's 3rd Grade class had a competition of who could grow the biggest cabbage..Now I am not a garden person at all so this was a challenge for both of us..

The winner of the largest cabbage also got to inter a nation wide competition that the winner of that one could win a $1,000 scholarship to college...So with 3 kids and knowing that we would need all the help we could get to put them through college we entered the contest...Again, let me remind you that I kill everything that I try to grow...

So with the help of DW Grandmother we worked really hard to grow her cabbage and get it as large as we could...

The time had come to pick the cabbage, wieght it and turn in the results...

Her cabbage wieghed 12.1 pounds...and as you can see it was very large...The results are not in yet on who one but whethe she wins or not she was very proud of herself for growing such a large cabbage and committing to something all the way through....

MY FRIDAY

Ok, this one is for Todd Wright....My Friday was not near as interesting as his...

Kids woke around 8am...I get up and check emails and return emails....

Feed the kids whatever we can find for breakfast because we are behind on buyin groceries...

Straighten house, make beds, pick things up and everyone gets dressed.....

Have lunch with DW and then after lunch we lay Mason down for a nap and gather all of our things to get ready for our lemonade sales.....We make 3 different flavors of lemonade...First pitcher is regular country time lemonade..2 pitcher is strawberry country time lemonade..and the 3pitcher is a new recipe we tried today..It is Wiler powdered peach tea mixed with Wilers lemonade...It was a hit and if you have not tried it you need to...It is great for a hot summer day.

Then we work the lemonade stand until 5:30pm and clean up in more ways than one...

After DW gets home from work I leave to go to the tanning bed, then I go up to my classroom to do a little work on curriculum etc....Cause, school starts back for me in 3 weeks...

After working in my classroom until 8pm then I come home load all the things we will need for our SPLAT ministries into the Mom mobile and then we eat supper and clean up.

We go out side to watch the kids swim in the pool for about an hour....Go in, get baths, get kids into bed and then I sit down to work more on curriculum with my lap top and discover that I have lost my jump drive that has a years worth of school curriculum on it....

We frantically start looking for it in the house, car, back at my classroom, back home and then again in the car and finally find it after an hour of blood, sweat, and lots of frantic tears...

Then I sit down to check emails one more time, read the Toddblog, and then decide to write this blog, just before I decide to turn in for the night.

Like I said not a very interesting day compared to some of you guys....

Abundant Life!?

What does it mean to have an abundant life? How do you have an abundant life when it seems as though things are not going right. How do you really acquire an abundant life? How do you keep an abundant life even when things are bad? I have heard many times "God came to give you life and to give it more abundantly" How do you attain that abundant life?

Any thoughts on this subject? I would really like to hear your opinions or maybe you have some scriptures to share on this subject.

What's your Story?

So I am watching the Home Run Derby last night with my husband. First of all, I am not a baseball person but I felt impressed to watch this with my husband while folding clothes. Then Josh Hamilton gets up to bat. This guy was on FIRE. He hit 28 homeruns in the first round!! Then my husband started telling me some of the things this guy has gone through. Let me list them for you.

1. Banned from baseball in 2004
2. Burning through $4 million dollar sign-on bonus
3. Gets addicted to drugs like meth and alcohol
4. Trys rehab 8 different times
5. Wife kicks him out of the house
6. Gets many tatoos, one of which is a picture of the devils face with flames all around it.
7. Hits an all time low
8. Enters rehab one more time
9. Makes a total change in his life including giving his life to Christ
10. Makes a mends with wife and children
11. Has an accountability partner that follows him around everywhere to keep him clean
12. Does Bible Studies with his accountability partner everyday.
13. Speaks to kids and teens all over the world about his story.
14. Gets back into baseball
15. Breaks new record in the history of Home Run Derby by hitting over 30 home runs.

Now, I know there are many athletes out there that have made a change in thier life just the same as he but for some reason this story really spoke to me, and it got me thinking.

Can God really use baseball to speak to people? Can God really take your past experiences and use them for His glory? Do we all have a past experience that we could be sharing with those around us?

The answer to all those questions above are yes. God can use anything to speak to people. God can definately free people from addictions and things that are keeping them in bondage.

So, what's your story? We all have one that we can share with others. It may not be addictions to drugs or alcohol. Maybe it's anger, or depression or money. Whatever it is God can definately free you from those things. Why does God choose to heal us from those things? Because he wants us to be another Josh Hamilton. He wants to release in us a home run hitter. HE wants us to tell others about what he has done in our lives and use to free other people from bondages. And then when we do that we are able to discover inside of us who we are and God's purpose for our life.

Josh even tells stories of how He had very demonic nightmares and how he knew that the devil was very much a part of his life. He even says that the reason he takes around an accountability partner is not because he needs to be babied but he knows that he could slip at anytime and he knows the devil is not very far away. How true that is for all of us. The devil sitting and waiting for us to slip up. Do you have someone that can keep you clean?

Just some of my thoughts. What are your thoughts about this whole thing?
You can read Josh Hamilton's story on www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com.

SPLAT Ministries

Today we had our Children's Ministry-SPLAT. We had hotdogs, chips, cookies, water, gatorade, and koolaide. We gave away 300 hotdogs to children and adults. We had many things for the kids to do. We had a memory verse game to play, we had waterguns we gave away to all the kids, waterballoons, and a huge water slide that we sprayed with water and baby shampoo to make it extremely slick. We also had face painting, sidewalk chalk, coloring etc. It was extremely hot but extremely rewarding. Many of these kids are unchurched and there were several who walked away being able to quote memory verses by memory. It was awesome. Attached are some pictures from today. We will be at Brandon park again next Saturday also. Hopefully, we will have many more kids to come out.

So Here Is My Day Today

So it is summer so my days aren't near as busy as they are during the school year but I thought I would enlighten you on my day for today.

First of all I get woke up by my 3 year old at about 8:30, he is hungry so I get up and get him something to eat and then I go lay back down. He comes back in my room a few minutes later wanting some juice so I get up and get juice for him and then go lay back down. He comes back in and wants to watch a movie so at this point I decide I need to get up even though I would love to sleep just 10 more minutes. I mean afterall, it is summer.

So, I get up and instruct all 5 kids that we have alot of errands to run so they need to get up and get dressed, brush teeth, and clean thier rooms.

By the way I have only 3 kids the extra 2 kids are my 2 nieces. They are here for the summer.

So, for those who don't know me well, I am a little OCD so I have to make sure that all beds are made, rooms are clean, toys picked up and in thier place, floors vaccuumed, dishes cleaned and kitchen wiped down along with the table, and the bathroom clean. So we work to make sure all of this is done before we leave the house.

So we will get dressed and leave to first go and meet my husband for lunch at 12, then after lunch we will take my 3 year old for a haircut, go to Lowe's to get somethings for our SPLAT outreach tomorrow at the park, and then to walmart to get "stuff".

Then I will meet a friend, Robin, in Brandon Park to hand out flyers for tomorrows ministry outreach. WE will go door to door and then leave some at 2 gas stations that allows us to post on the windows and leave at the counter.

Then back home to get ready for pictures. Pictures at 7pm and then probably dinner and then home to get kids ready for bed. By this point my son will be very grumpy because he will have not had a nap today.

So that is basically my day, not very interesting but never the less, thats me.

Who is Stephanie Crager?

I am a teacher at Harmony Christian School. I teach Pre-k 3- 8th grade Music and Drama. I am responsible for 2 large musicals per year along with solo & ensemble competitions. I also take my Choir to peform for many community events. We do puppet shows, drama skits, songs, sign language, banners, streamers, and black light shows. I am also the cheer coach at Harmony Christian School. I am also currently in the process of getting my Bachelors Degree in Children's Ministries with a specialization in Biblical Studies along with a minor in Music and Theatre Arts.

I have just recently started a new ministry called SPLAT Ministries. We go out to Brandon Park and minister to the kids in that area. We feed them lunch along with provide activities for the kids to do. We keep a list of all the names of kids that come to our outreach so that I can send birthday cards when it is time. We do this twice a month and I am hoping that as the ministry grows that we will be able to reach more kids and go into more parks, apartment buildings etc to minister to many kids. As of right now we have been able to minister to @ 60 kids so far since June.

What does SPLAT stand for?
S-Songs
P-Praise
L-Lessons
A-Activities
T-Teaching
We do all of these things with the kids along with bringing in puppet shows, object lessons, and Drama skits.

SPLAT Children's Ministries
Building a Faith that Sticks!

Please pray that God will continue to grow this ministry and bring more helpers so that we can reach more kids for the kingdom of God.