Marinating

Marinate: to soak in a mixture or marinade.

My thoughts have been marinating lately in a few quotes I've read this week. I found them in a book called ENJOY THE SILENCE by Maggie & Duffy Robbins. I pretty much 'stole' this book from Ryan after he abandoned it in the annex recently. I plan to give it back...don't worry! Here are the quotes...hope they speak to you also!

Cultivate my heart, Lord, so I may catch every word that falls from Heaven - every syllable of encouragement, every sentence of rebuke, every paragraph of instruction, every page of warning, help me to catch these words as the soft, fertile soil catches seeds. -Ken Gire

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Silence is God's first language; everything else is a poor translation... -Thomas Keating

My thoughts have been soaking in these two quotes! I love the part of "every syllable...every sentence...every paragraph...every page"! I love the idea of everything else being "a poor translation" for silence. I struggle at times with the whole "silence" deal. My mind is constantly running. It never walks, only sprints! I love it, but it makes studying difficult at times (and definitely a problem for hearing). I'm also a very visual person so these quotes really stood out to me. I don't want to have rocky soil, weed ridden soil, or shallow roots. I want be soil ready to grow whatever God plants in my heart!

I'll leave you with this...I personally want to watch to catch EVERY (not some, but EVERY) single word God has for me! How I want to see that for every young person! I wonder what thoughts drown out the words falling from Heaven? What is my dominate language? Is something smothering the silence? Hmmm...I think I will keep soaking!

Father, drown out the distractions in my mind and in my heart that keep me from hearing You. Help me to be a stand up person in this bow down world while constantly listening to You. Help me to catch EVERY word You drop from Heaven for me. I want to hear You completely! I love You! I need You! Whisper to my heart!

The beach

The beach was great! Micki had to have a time-out in the "Naughty Chair", but once we got that straight, it was smooth sailing! She made lots of new friends on the beach. Here is a picture of her hanging out with about 10 of them.

We had a great time playing tennis even though everything was out according to Crystal. My philosophy was "just go with it!" I seemed to struggle in the serving department. I think my side is still hurting from laughing so incredibly hard!

A trip to that area is not the same without dinner at Lamberts. Everyone ate like pigs especially when the rolls were flying. Lance seemed a little preoccupied with the puzzle book until he was smoked with a roll (with a little help from some people at our table). Everyone had fun. Even Whitaker liked the tea. Here is part of our group.

From there, we landed at The Track for some serious swinging, go-karts, and a little putt putt challenge (where the guys narrowly beat the girls). Crystal brushed up on her Nintendo Mario skills over of the weekend! We managed to get a little shopping in too. It was a relaxing weekend filled with fun, good food, and lots of laughter! My favorite kind of trip! Looking forward to going again!

Can somebody say beach?

Yep! Don't be jealous...leaving in 30 minutes.

I'll likely have some funny stories when I get back...and hopefully some suntan!

Miley's Pic of the week...

Yes...I know, I know! I've been extremely bad at posting Miley's pic of the week. Here are some recent pictures of her to make up for some of it. Lately my camera's memory card has been acting up, but that's no excuse....I'll try to do better.

My dad and Luke with Miley.

Miley in the Bumbo - these are so cool.

Why didn't I think of inventing this little genius idea???

This is the cutest blanket around! If you know me, then you know I LOVE zebra print! The cutest part is her newest habit - covering her face up when she's ready to go to sleep. Here she's modeling that for us. She LOVES her little blanket! I got to spend the day with her Monday. Unfortunately, my Escape became our escape much of the day. Our A/C went out and didn't get back up and running until 4:45pm. Miley and I are extremely fond of A/C! Heat is not our friend! We went to Hobby Lobby, Home Depot, and Sonic. We even sat in the car with the A/C running for a while just to cool off. Other than that, it was a great day!

Late Nights and CEO's

My weekend has been non-stop! My nephew decided earlier this week that he wanted to spend the night at our house Friday, and "Aunt Connie can take me lots of places". This was his first time sleeping out. It was an adventure right from the start. We took the journey to Chuckie Cheese (sp?). Miley really loved it and so did Luke, Mic, Renee, and Ryan! (cannot get the pic to load) Next we opted for ice cream. Luke decided after his cone that "Flinstone's mobile" at Scoop-N-Doo's needed repairs. I think his diagnosis was the starter was out and it needed a new battery (it's all about perspective! 5 year old boy perspective that is!). Once the car was "fixed", we headed over to our house for a little late night Cheesy Mac and a promise to play Nintendo & drink Coke in the morning. I learned I am really sad at video games. I realized Luke is one of the only people on earth I can really beat at Mario Kart. It's sad because he's the whopping age of 5!! A little later we hit the open road again with Renee and Miley! McDonald's this time. Where do they get all that energy from? I really had fun, and hope he'll be coming back again soon!

Last night, Mic had some girls over for the night. We took a little late night trip to Walmart for some important items (ice cream, pizzas, salsa chips, and creme soda). A very healthy assortment of junk! I love shopping at night. There is such an interesting crowd there after 10pm. You meet all kinds of people there (and tons of ministry opportunities). The weekend wrapped up with Sparkle, Sparkle and a little more Sparkle!! I cannot wait for Sparkle to get started. It's going to be amazing! There is an awesome group of chicks planning this years events, and I love sharing life with them!!! CANNOT WAIT!!!!! 19 days...

With all of that said, my thoughts have been centered on something I read earlier in the week. This might be old, but it's worth repeating.

WHO IS CEO OF YOUR LIFE?

(pause) I want my life to scream that my CEO is Jesus. What is in my life that is competing for the position of CEO? Have I allowed anything else to apply for that position? There is nothing else I'd rather be associated with or representing than Jesus Christ!!! There is nothing else worth representing! I pray my life is not about climbing any ladder or getting recongnition or being first (although I admit I am extremely competetive). My prayer, my hope is this ... I want to empower others and bring hope to the hurting in EVERY step I take...and Jesus is that hope! Now, WHO is my CEO?

Changing the world...

This weekend I have been surrounded by world changers. It all began in New Orleans last night! Student Ministries (PF, Refuge and Late Night) kicked off our overnight retreat for student ministries leaders. One word described the whole thing: Epic! I love the fact that the lines are blurring between Pathfinders and Refuge leadership. I love the fact that we are all fighting together for the same generation of present and future world changers. LOVE IT!

Tonight we closed out the summer with Navigate Graduation. Oh, Bitter sweet. I am so proud of every student that accepted the challenge, put their best foot forward, and plunged through! Wow, what an accomplishment! All of those projects, assignments, memory verses....great memories...more memory verses...Amazing job! Again, I am so so so very proud! LOVE IT!

And the Grand Finale: Tomorrow Mic graduates Equip. This has been a great summer! I have really seen her come out of her shell this year. I see boldness and new maturity that wasn't there before. Needless to say, Doug and I are VERY PROUD of her. Yet another world changer moment to be found this weekend! LOVE IT!!

Don't forget the 40 Days of Prayer for the Children!

Stand up. Stand out. Change the world.

It's ALL about the children!

Children's Cup is an amazing organization dedicated to seeing children flourish that are spiritually robbed in so many ways. A year ago today, I had the awesome opportunity of spending 2 weeks in Africa with fellow Elevate students, some of the most amazing missionaries, and hundreds of children! I have spent much of the last two weeks thinking about "the children" especially since we are in the midst of 40 Days of Prayer for them.

I ask you to set aside the remaining days of this call for prayer. These children need our prayers so desperately!!! They are so beautiful. Regardless of the fact that I stood on that soil around the campus, I will never know what it is truly like to live in their footsteps. I found myself thinking today about how guilty we are in America to complain about so many things. We expect everything now and perfect. We live in a society of instant gratification! Many of the children I was fortunate enough to hold and love on only wish for some of the things (food, clothing, love, protection from harm...) we have instantly...things we completely take for granted.

I challenge you over the remaining 35 days to think about them when you feel the urge to complain. Think about how blessed you are! You can see the entries every day at www.childrenscup.org and follow the online prayer guide. Please, take time to pray for these beautiful children! They are so precious! Remember, it's all about the children!