Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Prayers!

Hey Ladies!!
I hope all of you are having an amazing summer in the midst of work, vacation, and hanging out with friends! I cannot believe we only have about 3 weeks until everyone will be back on campus!!! Where did the time go?? I am basically a workaholic lifeguarding at Pocahontas State Park at least 50 hours a week! However, the main reason I am writing this post is to ask all of you for your prayers. A few of you know about part of this already, but almost 2 years ago now I had a serious car accident with injuries and had one passenger in the car with me. Recently we received a summons and I am now being sued. We do not know exactly how long this case will last, but I would like to request your prayers for the case to work efficiently and end in my favor. I was not charged after the accident, and my wreckless driving ticket was dismissed in court, so I am not at fault =) I just have to leave everything in God's hands and the experts dealing with the case!

Thank you all so much! I love you all and will see you soon!
--Christine

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Oh Joy it's July!

Hey lovely ladies of God's own design! :0) I hope you all are having a great summer! I don't know if you are itching to get back as much as I am, but man! I am ready for this school year to start and hang out with you all! You are good people, hehe. Anyways, I was at a Bible study tonight at my church just for women, and my friend Annmarie who is in charge talked about our passions. It was incredible! She asked us to talk about what we thought our passions where, and it was a difficult question! It isn't the same as, what role do you have or what job you have, but about your souls desires and what excites you in life. About what God has crafted inside of you to be what brings out the most joy for you, and in the long run glorifies God. She referenced Ephesians 1:15-23 which talks about how Paul was praying for the Ephesians and their wisdom and understanding of God and His calling on their lives. If you are struggling with where you think God is bringing you, and you have no idea...I think you should take a look at it...and turn this prayer for this church into a prayer you have for yourself, or ask someone to pray that prayer for you!

Now, I think we all kind of knew where this was going to go, but I wanted to ask you that same question!
What is YOUR passion? What drives you? What makes your heart soar and dance when you do it? What gives you shivers and butterflies when you do it, knowing that this drive is from God?

Anyways, it's July and there is 31 days in it. My other suggestion if you haven't done it already is to be going through a Proverb each day and just "chew" on that chapter during the day. Keep looking back and seeing if God is pulling something else out for you to see and understand, and as Eph. 1:18 says that God is "Enlightening your hearts understanding?" I haven't done it this way yet, but I think I shall start. Proverbs can be hard to get through because there seems like no rhyme or reason to why each chapter is outlined...or rather NOT outlined, haha. But definitely see what God is saying about it! :0)

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Designed to have awesome summers!

Hello lovely women! I can't believe that it's already June!! It isn't warming up much in Ohio, but I'm sure that the rest of you are beginning to feel the summer heat wherever you are!

I haven't been writing on the blog alot, but I have been checking it every day and taking some time to read what you all are up to and what you have to say.

Katie: I love how your humor comes through in your writing! I will be praying for you as you're searching for a job (that's always stressful!). I will also be praying for you and this said boy :-) Relationships are crazy complicated, so that's why God has to be at the center of them! I will also keep your cousin in my prayers. Family can sometimes be the hardest to witness to, so I will be praying that he can give the boldness to share what you believe!

Lindsey: Kris Allen didn't win and I am so sorry :-( In happier news though, I loved what you posted about the kids in your daycare! It's so cool to see that you have a heart for children!I will be praying for your relationship with your mom. Conflict at home makes it harder to be there, so I will be praying that you keep a good attitude even when things aren't in your favor. I will also be praying for the stuff that's going on with your church! That's never fun!

Kelley: My partner and amazing friend. It was so good to talk to you and be able to catch up on your life in North Carolina. You're keeping crazy busy, and I pray that the Lord will continually renew you daily so that you don't become tired. I will be praying for you as you work to obtain your drivers license. It can be a frustrating process, and it will feel amazing once that piece of plastic is in your hand!!! I love you so much, and I can't wait to talk to you again!

Christine: I'm slightly envious that your summer is being spent in Florida, but I know that you're having a fantastic time and must therefore not be brought down by the jealousy of others ;-) I will be praying for you and your job as a lifeguard as well as your re certification. I'm sure that your job can be a challenge at times, so I will be praying that the Lord gives you the strength to remain strong both physically and spiritually. I will also be praying for your family and the stuff that is happening with your mom and brother. Sickness stinks, and it is a very disheartening time. I hope that your summer continues to be wonderful and I can't wait to get another update from you!

Dana: It is so amazing to see that your heart is open to wherever God wants to send you. I'm sure that spending a summer babysitting wasn't something that you even thought about, but I'm glad to hear that you're having a good time with Kyrie. I'm sure that your cousin will be married soon, so I will be praying that everything goes family for that wedding. I will also be praying for your brothers' wedding in July as I'm sure it brings about completely different feelings than the previous wedding. Please keep us informed with your summer and also crazy stories! I'm sure you'll have a bunch!! Also, we are doing prayer partners over the summer and Kelley and I teamed you up with Katie Johnson and Ashley Martens. They're amazing, and you can keep in touch with them via phone or facebook if you want!!!

Emilee: Thanks for all you're doing regarding your thoughts concerning the hall and the girls! You're doing a great job, and it's already showing your commitment for this hall! I wanted to answer your question about Dr. Falwell. While I don't have a specific memory with me and him, I remember how personal and friendly he was when he was on campus. He was a magnificient presence that was felt whenever he entered Liberty's terrain, and he was always waving when he was in his vehicle (which drove around the circle actually quite alot) and he was seen talking to students all the time (much like Jerry Jr.) Thanks so much for bringing that to the table for discussion! You're amazing, and I appreciate everything you do!!

Love you ladies alot!!!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Beautiful flowers.

Hey girls! I was just thinking today, looking at the wonderful shirts Miss Litton made, and was thinking about the best way to look at this upcoming school year. There are so many ways to see this amazing ministry. Today was such a beautiful day, the sun shining bright, and the colors of nature are just so striking. It is amazing how beautiful God has made things, and how beautiful people can create landscapes and gardens to be. In a cheesy way of its own, our look at this ministry should be like growing a garden of flowers. The hall will be made up of mostly freshman, and some may or may not have even really understood what it means to be in a godly relationship with the Creator of the universe. As it should be, it seems too big for them, and even us to fathom. I pray that our hall will be receptive and teachable, but we will not know until the school starts. I encourage you to continue to pray for the girls in your group, maybe even individually. Although we don't know their names, we can number them! haha.

Back to the garden thing, we should think of the different ways that we will plant those seeds of growth in these girls, whether they know God or not. It is a fresh start to a new season in their life, and we are the cultivators of new spiritual growth for them. Christ is the ultimate Cultivator, but He is using every one of us to help them to grow and become the beautiful women that He wishes for them to be. I was reading Galatians 5 today, and it talked about the fruits of the Spirit. If you look at each of the 9 characteristics God commands us to have, they are so beautiful! When you meet women who have even one of those traits, you can't help but think how beautiful she is. We all want that. Many of those traits can be cultivated in your girls by encouraging them in their walk, making God's word exciting and helping them to want more and more of it. God has given you a passion for the Word and His work, our job is to help the girls to gain such a passion. We will be able to accomplish so much this year if we keep in mind that these seeds being planted will produce such beauty that the body cannot contain it. We are Daughters of Design, His design, and with the Holy Spirit in us, we are Daughters of Beauty when we reflect His fruit.

This note is a bit out of order I think, haha. I just got a bit worked up and went in all kinds of directions, and I apologize, but the main idea of it is to be excited! Be excited about the proverbial garden that will be planted in your prayer groups and in the leadership. Be excited about the beauty that will unfold in every room and be exuded all over campus. We will have the most gorgeous girls because they will reflect God's awesomeness in themselves. Oh man, and we will too! Keep praying for your girls, and we will continue to be praying for you!

Sunday, May 24, 2009

My Summer So Far. . .

Hi Ladies! I'm not sure how much this post will make sense, because for some reason, I am really tired. Well, so far my summer has been this: the week after finals I had to observe a teacher and classroom for 30 hours at Liberty Christian Academy; That was exciting. . . not.
Then, instead of going back to Texas (where I am originally from, but I now live in the lynchburg) at the end of June through July, my sister asked me to come early and nanny my 1 1/2 year old niece Kyrie. So a few days later (this past wednesday) I went to Dallas, TX! And that is where I am and will be till the end of July! Well so far, I've changed about 3 or 4 poopy diapers, got splashed during bathtime, and have watched a "Praise Baby" video 100 times at the request of my niece. LOL I am having a great time getting to know and take care of Kyrie, it can be tiring though! I appreciate mothers more and more these days. . .
My cousin is getting married at the end of June, and then my brother is getting married in July. Then when I get back to VA, my friend is getting married Aug. 1st! It seems like everybody is getting married these days, ladies! I don't get it! lol anyway. . .tomorrow we are going over to my aunt's house to grill out and swim, then we're gonna see termanator! fun fun! so that is basically my summer so far.
I'm glad y'all are having good summers so far too!
In Him
Dana

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Sorry for the gap!!!

Hello beautiful ladies of 28-3!!!! I pray that all of you are having tremendous summers! From the look of all of the blogs it looks like you are!! I can't wait to see what else you'll write as the weeks progress!

I apologize for not writing for a while! I've been pretty much without a computer the past couple weeks, but it feels kind of nice to take a break from technology! Not going to lie!

As for Scripture reading, Please continue reading in Proverbs even though it may seem like the same old stuff. For preparation in leadership last year, they had me read Proverbs from May until August in order to really give me different outlooks on verses at different stages of my summer. I would encourage you to continue this for you guys in addition to your typical Bible reading! It's a truly beneficial book and feel free to post about specific Proverbs that stuck out to you for discussion!!!

Sorry that this post is so short, but I'm just so anxious to read everyone else's post!!!! I'll write more later!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Better late than never right??

Hello Hello :) I am so excited that we have this blog to keep up with everyone!! And I just might have a few exciting stories to tell from work over the summer haha...it has definitely been an interesting summer so far though since it is my first one after being away at school. I already went on vacation with my parents to Florida (Orlando) on the Friday of finals week and we went to Aquatica and Sea World and chilled at the pool and such. It is weird for me though since my brother is not there anymore...he does live in Orlando but it's still not the same and it gets lonely :/ Anyway--don't even start to feel sorry for me I can take it!! haha

As for the rest of the summer I will be lifeguarding at Pocohontas State Park and I will basically live there since I already have 40 and 45 hour weeks lined up! I am finishing up gettin re-certified for all of that now so I think it is going to be pretty stressful at times but exciting too!! Oh yeah...and my dad bought a jet ski last night = D so that will occupy a bit of my time too ;)

My lovely prayer partner is Amy Botts and I am thrilled!
Not to mention my neighbor too! heehee

For prayer requests, my family because a situation came up that is pretty heavy and I really hope it all ends quickly and smoothly. My brother had a job through the government and it ended before it was supposed to, and well my mom has a cold since its not 90 degrees here like it was in Florida!