Happy Valentine's Day...and Birthday...and Anniversary...and probably Christmas, to me!

I am SO excited about my Valentine's day present...I have been wanting a nice camera for years, but have been too nervous about spending that kind of money...well, hubs and I decided to take the plunge and splurge on one! I'm anxious to take it out and really start practicing with it...lots of really awesome, artistic pictures to come!...hehe.

Catchin' Up

I have a lot of catching up to do! For one thing, our 28-day detox has been over for weeks now, and I haven't even talked about it since then. BUT, first things first! - My new scripture for this second half of the month. This one is going to be a bit trickier...I kinda cheated with the other one, memorizing a verse that I had memorized in the past, but this is a brand spankin' new one! --

...comes with all his holy ones (is what's on the back). -1 Thessalonians 3:12 & 13

So anyway, back to the detox. Well, it's over, first of all. Josh lost 15 pounds! Seriously, the weight just fell off of him. I lost 3. Whoopee. But, to be honest, I definitely cheated more than he did, and I threw in the towel at around day 21, while he stuck strong until the end. Honestly, though, we weren't doing it, really, to lose weight, but rather, just to feel better. And I am starting to realize that what I put into my body really does affect how I feel. We're still trying to do about 80-20, meaning stick to the detox 80% of the time and then have cheats the other 20%. On the days where we completely cheat, I definitely feel it. My stomach hurts and grumbles and I wake up the next morning with a headache. Headaches have been the biggest thing for me since then that I've noticed - I didn't really have any while doing the detox, at least not that were bad enough that I needed Advil, but since then, I would say I've had headaches about 4 times a week where I've needed some kind of medicine. It's crazy really, and I'm sure I can pinpoint it to the gluten or caffeine or diet soda that I have added back to my diet, but for some reason I can't let go of these things! I have definitely cut back on my gluten, but I honestly really look forward to my cup of coffee in the morning and my Diet Mountain Dew in the afternoon. I think I am going to stick with the coffee and cut out some, SOME, of the DMD...like maybe down to 5 days a week. We'll see, that could be pushing it. :)

Hmm...I guess I didn't have nearly as much to catch up on as I thought. Pictures to come tomorrow of my FANTASTIC Valentine's Day present. And now, in late honor of LOVE day, a picture of me and the husband from my favorite day --

SO happy.

Great Weekends

I feel like I have so much to catch ya'll up on! I have been feeling so overwhelmingly blessed lately by the people in my life that I just have to share. I'll start with the weekend before last. My mom and sister came in to visit, which I just love! I treasure any time I get to spend with these 2 lovely ladies, so I was quite excited to spend a weekend with them up in my neck of the woods. Well, not only did they come in for a visit, but my sister Becca's boyfriend, Zac, came up to visit as well. It was such a nice weekend all around. The ladies did a little shopping while the fellas did a little Xboxing, and we all hung out at night playing Scrabble. I feel like I really got to know Zac better, and it's always refreshing to spend time with momma and sis, but hands-down the best part of the weekend was that Zac gave his life to Jesus on Sunday! YES! He has been going to church with my sister since they started dating several months ago, and has really been on the journey of searching since then, and decided that he was ready to make the biggest and best decision of his life! The coolest part was that Josh got to really minister and pour his wisdom into Zac, and got to baptize him on Sunday. One of my favorite parts of seeing someone give their life to Jesus is the sheer desire to get to know Him better. I absolutely love it when new believers ask questions and genuinely seek and have a desire to learn, which is what I see in Zac. It is truly refreshing.

Some intense Scrabble action :)

Zac getting baptized...in a horse trough, no less! :)

This past weekend was another great one...I am beyond tired as I write this, yet am feeling so inspired and encouraged! We took 11 of our youth kids to a Dare2Share conference in Columbus, which is basically an evangelism training for teens. We roadtripped it to Columbus Friday after school, just in time for the first session. Shane and Shane led worship, and then we had various speakers talk to us about the importance and urgency of sharing the gospel with our friends. We stayed at a hotel on Friday night, where we pigged out on pizza and candy and played some card games, and then rose and shone super early on Saturday (i.e., 6:30 a.m...yuck!) for some more sessions. The coolest/scariest part of the conference was that the kids were encouraged to call 2 of their friends on the spot and basically point-blank ask them if they believed in God. Scary, yet so inspiring to see our students embrace this and just do it! I am so so proud of our kids, and am honestly so moved and encouraged by their courage and boldness for the Lord. They were also encouraged to share the gospel with a stranger over dinner, and I am just unbelievably proud as one of our youngest students, a 7th-grader, boldly walked over to a couple eating dinner at Wendy's and asked them if they knew the Lord. She felt a prompting from the Holy Spirit and let it lead her. She didn't allow herself to be talked out of a prompting, which I ashamedly admit I am guilty of, but rather she moved when she felt called. One of my favorite parts which just filled my heart to the brim was seeing our students so engaged in worship. To see 5,000 teens with their eyes closed and arms in the air, worshipping their Father was just amazing. Also, I am so excited to share that 4 (yes, four!) of our students adopted a Compassion child! These kids understand the mission, and want to share the love of God with others, whether they be in Ohio, Uganda, Ghana or wherever. I left the conference in awe of God, extremely proud of our students, and with a full heart. Couldn't have asked for a better weekend. :)

A youth retreat certainly isn't complete without a stash of junk food :)

Worship.

Students worshipping.

Siesta Scripture

Wow! 2 blog entries in 2 days...I'm getting better at this! Well today I'm going to keep it short - I thought I'd share with ya'll something that I just heard of that I am going to start participating in. It's called the Siesta Scripture Memory Challenge. Basically, I am going to join with thousands of other women across the country in committing to memorizing 2 scriptures a month, 24 for the year. I am already 2 behind, because I just heard of this yesterday, but I think I will try to catch up so I can have 24 memorized this year. Anyways, you can find all the details here, but basically all you do is log on to The Living Proof Ministries blog on the 1st and 15th of every month. You write down what you're committing to memorize and then you do it! It's pretty simple, but so cool to know that countless other women all across the country are doing the same thing!

So for a little extra accountability, I thought I'd share my verse with you all. I've already written it all out on my trusty notecard, and it's going to sit on my desk so I'll see it everyday! If you see me, ask me my verse! :)