For The Love Of Everything

Observations From "My Little Section" at Church of the Highlands

Well. I wanted to take a second and share something really cool I noticed tonight at church. First, just FYI, if you come to church on a WEDNESDAY night, you BETTER get there 30 minutes early. They literally had to have everyone move in to the center of their aisles to make room for others....HOW COOL. The parking lot was FULL....ahhhhh, I just love it!

Anyway, back to my "observation" tonight.

Jer and I sit in the same little section week after week after week after week. For the last two years I have watched a family that have been desperately praying for their son. I have seen the tears of the mother. I have seen the harden face of the son. I have watched....week after week after week.

I've been missing Wednesday nights a good bit because of work, (I'm about to nip that in the bud...is that how you spell that saying???) ANYWAY....I've been back the last three weeks in a row, and I noticed something. That young man. He looked different. He was smiling.....

Now, fastforward to tonight.

I noticed during worship that this young man was FIRED up. I am talking, you could tell that he was EXCITED about the Lord. I've never seen this before...EVER. I watched them take communion as a family, pray together, THEN the final worship song of the night came....if you've never been to Highlands, the worship time might freak you out a bit...it's fantastic....ahhhh....I mean, you will see people clapping, lifting their hands, some might even bounce a bit, kind of like you were at a concert or something....hey, it's not weird at football games and clubs, so it shouldn't be that weird at church.....ANYWAY....

During the last song, I was watching him worship, and nudged Jer, and said, wow....that is just SO cool, then I looked at his mother, and it was like I could just sense her excitement, that her years of praying had been heard. The love she had for her son was undeniable. She was overjoyed, relieved...and I thought, ahhh, the love of a mother, look at her, how excited she is, and it was like the Lord just said, that's how excited I get too...

And the floodgate of tears rose up in my eyes. The Lord LONGS for us to just GIVE up. Throw in the towel. Turn to Him. Let HIM have control. He desires SO deeply to have us for His own. He KNOWS we aren't perfect. If we were, Jesus would not have given His life for us. That mother knew her son's past. The Lord knew that young man's past....do you think that mattered to either of the two? Not one bit. They were overjoyed. Excited. Jumping up and down....

I will tell you...I know this sounds really crazy. But I really really felt like I was suppose to share that story. Not sure if it's for a mother who has just been praying like crazy for one of her kids, or someone who just needs to know how much the Lord is CRAZY in LOVE with them....either way, I hope it encourages you as much as it encouraged me.

Hope you have a fantastic rest of your week!

Monique

Such a Great Husband, And Adding to My TV Portfolio.....

I sure do love my husband. He created a link in the post below so you could go right to the message from Wednesday night. Did you listen to it yet, huh? WHAT? You haven't???? Hurry, go do it now. I promise it will be a great start to your day!

If you have absolutely no clue what I'm talking about, read the post below. 

Okay, now to spend some time with my hubby. He's off work today. WoooHoo. Too bad for me that one of his five is going to the gym. Sigh. That is NOT one of mine, lol.....but I am being a good wife and going with him before I go into work. Speaking of work. MTV is taping a show and guess who the nurse was last night. FOR THE LOVE. Cameras and MASSIVE microphones hanging over my head freak me out. All I know is I am praying that what all was recorded last night NEVER makes it to TV, knowing my luck though....sigh....I told Jer we ought to go ahead and try out for Amazing Race, we've always wanted to do that, and for some reason I am on a winning streak when it comes to TV stuff. Now THAT would make some REALLY good T.V. Jer and I racing around the world. Him yelling at me for leaving my passport in a taxi, me crying...I can see it now. 

Alright, have a fantastic day.

Monique

I'm BEGGING You to Read This Post!!!!

Why hey there. :) I know, I know, it is so not 2011. But my goodness. I just could absolutely NOT contain myself to post about last night's message at church. I have got to say that Pastor Chris totally brought a rockin' message on worship. I have a huge heart for worship. I love it. I can not even begin to tell you how it can change my day in an instance. I could listen to worship music all day, everyday, and nothing but that.

Okay, okay, so you HAVE GOT to listen to the message. On Wednesday nights we don't have a video of it, but you can download a podcast on iTunes or Go Here

I am always amazed when verses I've always read are seen in a whole new light. I was writing like crazy all in my journal, my bible, I kept thinking of how I was going to have to RElisten to it again to make sure I didn't miss anything.

We were MADE to worship the Lord. Did you know that is what you were made for? The Lord wanted nothing more than to have someone to LOVE Him, He wanted a "bride", He created us to WORSHIP Him. Worship, is LOVE EXPRESSED, intimacy. He gave HIS life, even AFTER WE rejected Him, just simply to have us worship Him. There is nothing as hurtful as rejection. Have you ever been "rejected" by someone. It cuts deep. It's hard to get over. But the Lord, even after we rejected Him, He STILL gave His life FOR us. No questions asked. No hesitation. No list made of pros and cons to help make His decision. He did it. FOR US TO WORSHIP HIM. He just wants us to love Him back. 

Here are some of the songs I've been listening to over the past few weeks. I turn the music on every morning while cooking breakfast for the girls (i have been making some ROCKIN' chocolate chip pancakes here lately) and it's so cool because the girls are singing and humming these songs through out the day, man, worship, there's nothing like it!

The first one here. If you don't feel the presence of the Lord like never before, my goodness. Wow. wow. Wow.

So there you have it. Just a little on my mind. Hope you enjoy the message as much as I did. MY GOODNESS....SOOOOOOO good! Love ya. Monique

See Ya in 2011....Oh, and My Five!

So. Have you listened or watched the message from last week at Highlands? The new series Five? If not you can read my thoughts in the two posts below. You REALLY need to!

So I have been thinking of my five....it did make me feel better hearing Pastor Chris say that these five may change and need to be tweeked over time, so that gave me a little comfort, knowing that these were not set in stone.

My five are as follow.

1. My relationship with the Lord

Of course this is just a NO brainer. It's the most important. It's at the top of the list. I'm just wanting to really KNOW the Lord at a deeper level this year. To have a relationship that has never been closer. I am excited!

2. My relationship with my family/friends

Another obvious one. There will be a major focus on the "friends" category. I'm the first to admit that I'm a TERRIBLE friend. I know it. I've even been told it, lol...but I am focusing on some Godly friendships this year. You are who you "hang out with", or as Jeanne Mayo use to say, Show me your friends and I'll show you your future. I am just wanting to work on those Iron sharpens iron friendships!

3. Teaching my girls. (Homeschooling/Life)

This is VERY important to me. One of the major reasons I have cut back from a lot of my blog posting. To me, this is so much more than teaching a curriculum, but really making learning a part of life and ABOUT life.

4. Organized and Frugal Homemaker

I want my house to be a "home". Decorated. Warm. Peaceful. No chaos. Organized. In order. Warm meals. Laughter. Inviting. I want to continue to save money and create margin in our life, pay off what is left to pay off. Who doesn't want all this, right? :)

5. Preserver of My Family Memories

I am passionate about my family's memories being recorded and preserved. Period. I don't give a flyin' flip about the latest and greatest product out right now, GASP. There. I said it. My number one goal in this area is to simply get my pictures organized and printed over the course of this year. Oh, and trust me, it will take the WHOLE year. So sad. Maybe then I might have a desire to "scrapbook", but I don't see it in the immediate future. 

This new series is exactly what I needed to hear. It's exactly what's been going through my mind that I needed to do. So there will be a LOT of things being cut out of my life....much will be during the 21 days of prayer and fasting that begins tomorrow, but to be honest, I feel like I am suppose to cut out a good bit for the remainder of the year. One of the main things is the blog. I LOVE to blog. I LOVE to share my thoughts, and inspire and encourage others....I don't think this will be a FOREVER thing...but I do think for the rest of the year.

I know FOR SURE that facebook and twitter will be gone for a while for me. I've already turned off all things going to my phone, and will probably keep it that way for the remainder of the year. I am sure it won't kill me, 10 years ago I didn't even know what facebook and twitter was.

Now, before you go and think that I THINK cool scrapbook supplies, blogs, facebook, and twitter are demonic and from the pit of HELL itself....I DO NOT. Can we just make that point VERY clear. I do not think one of the 10 commandments says THOU Shalt Not Twitter, or Thou Shalt have no other Blog before me....are we understanding this fact? I just listed things that consume my time every day...and these are what made the list, and that COULD be cut out....to make room for "my five".

I am believing for BIG things this year! I hope you are too! I was thinking about all this the other day at work and really in a way questioning God with was HE really wanting me to give a bunch up to get closer to Him, (lol, find that funny, why would He not, but anyway) this twitter came across my phone from Kari Jobe.

God is creative..He's just waiting for us to ask Him. He doesn't withhold information..He just loves us to PURSUE Him for the answer!!

I want to REALLY REALLY know Him at a MUCH deeper level, so bad that I'm okay with breaking away from things, giving up things, changing my focus, I believe those things are different for EVERYONE. What are you willing to break away from to get more of Him? I dare you to do it. 

So here is to a GREAT GREAT 2010 for you! May you experience the Love of the Lord like NEVER before. May His paths and ways be made known to you. My prayer is that you experience His peace and find rest in Him in all you do. I pray His Word becomes alive in your life and that you find a relationship with Him that has never been closer. I really mean all of this from the bottom of my heart. The Lord is the ONLY one who can bring you TRUE peace and contentment....I hope you give Him a try, He will not let you down. I promise!

Monique

Five. A New Highland's Series!

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Wow. Wow. Wow. Did I just say WOW? I did. Why don't you just sit back, grab and pen and some paper and enjoy this message by Pastor Chris.

I am actually listening to this for a second time while I am posting this post! My goodness. WOW! So VERY VERY life inspiring.

So hurry. Go HERE and watch the first message in the series "five". 

Some of my favorite verses and quotes of this message are.....

1. Your yesterday ended last night.

2. Don't make your life about events, but processes.

3. An Intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions. Proverbs 17:24

4. You can never change your life until you can change something you do everyday. Not ALL day, just EVERY day.

5. We completely OVER exaggerate yesterday, Completely OVER exaggerate the power of tomorrow, and forget to make the most of the RIGHT NOW. Don't worry about tomorrow, focus on TODAY.

6. FORGET THE FORMER things. DO NOT DWELL on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18:19

7. This is what the Lord says: Stand at the crossroads and look, ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest in your souls! Jeremiah 6:16

8. “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may
gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
9. If you have not found the joy in the "Christian life", it's probably because you are doing it a "religious" way and not the "JESUS" way.....how, He didn't focus on the activity itself, but the JOY of it!

10.“The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life.”

Romans 8:13 Message

11. Don't turn over a new leaf, but a new life.

12. Christians have something else available to them, the WILD CARD, THE X FACTOR, we have HIS POWER TO HELP US. God, the GOD who pushed up the Rocky Mtns with His finger, WANTS TO HELP YOU. Who hung the stars...WANTS TO HELP YOU.

13. Only God can give you a BRAND NEW YOU. He can give you a life better than you ever DREAMED of.

Well, I could actually keep on posting some of my favorites, but I will stop for now.

I feel like I need to listen to this a few more times, take a few more notes, and really meditate and think on these verses. This is just good good stuff, and I hope it has been as life changing for you as it has for me. :)

Love you guys. I am trying to find where my "blog" fits into these "five"....I have been putting LOTS of thought into what my "FIVE" are...it's funny, my original five I came up with, each had sublists of five, not sure if that is where he was going with this, lol....soooo, I will keep you posted.

Hope you have a FANTASTIC Tuesday!

Live. Laugh. Love.

First. I have to say that I am in LOVE with the graphics for this sermon series at Church of the Highlands! I love the whimsical letters, I love the red and green, anything with a combination of red, green, or white right now is my weakness. BUT. Most of all. I LOVE the message behind this series. OH MY GOODNESS. Such and AMAZING series. You ReALLY ReALLY need to make some time in your schedule to watch the first two that we have had so far!

The first message. "Live Well", ahhhhh. This message...I tell ya. So what's been on my heart and mind here lately. Wow. Wow. Wow. The Lord really knew I needed to be reminded of all this! YOU MUST watch this...promise it will be worth your while!

LIVE WELL Part One of Live. Laugh. Love. series!

After you have watched that one...get ready to laugh a LOT. Today's message was OUTSTANDING. I was SO glad that they played  a clip from a comedian that entertained us at the Dream Team Banquet this past week! I laughed so much that night...ahhh, laughter is good for ya, you know it?

Laugh Often Part Two of Live. Laugh. Love. series!

Okay. Just wanted to pop in and share that with ya! I hope it blesses you as much as it has blessed me!

Hope you have the most FANTASTIC week ever!

Monique

Everyone Could Use a Dose of "Life Support". Check it out!

Pastor Chris starts a new series today at Highlands. I will admit. I can't wait to watch it online. But you can watch it LIVE at 9:30 and 11:15 cst TODAY, and then there will be a link I can post later if you miss that!

SO GO HERE AND WATCH. I am sure it is going to be AMAZING!

Okay. We drove half way, took our time and now we are about to drive the rest of the way to Disney. Yay! Can't wait to see Mickey!

Hope you have a fantastic Sunday!

So What's Your Sunday Plans???

If you are in the B'ham, Auburn, or Tuscaloosa area this Sunday, you better head over to one of the Church of the Highlands Campuses. WOW. Can I just say, if this past Wednesday night was any indication how Sunday is going to be. Ummmm....well, I am speechless...and of course if you know me...that is VERY uncommon.

We started a new Series.

 

Click HERE to watch last week! That way you will be caught up! :)

And if you go to church somewhere else or let's say you live a good distance away, well you are in luck. Go to Church of the Highlands website at 9:30 or 11:15 cst and you can watch it LIVE...HELLO! How stinkin cool is that? Makes my heart oh so happy!

Okay. I must go get some stuff done around here. I have been feeling all sickly the past couple of days. Time for me to get my act together.

Hope you are having a great Saturday!!!

Finances...The Economy...Check this Out...

We just started a new message series at Church of the Highland's call FAQs of Life. The first message was on finances. Such a great message.

If you have a few seconds, well actually about 30-40 minutes, I encourage you to watch it....

Questions about Finances

Now, if you are stressed out about all this we are hearing on the "Economy", you MUST listen to last night's message. Ahhhhh, it was so good. I always love sharing these links with you all here, but I SO wish you could experience the worship time we have before the message. Last night's worship service was just so MAJOR refreshing. There is nothing like being packed in an building with over a thousand other people on a WEDNESDAY night...did you just see what you just read??? OVER 1000 people who come to church in the middle of the week, who are tired, busy, kid's homework to complete, but how can you not, when you know how "refreshed" you are going to leave. There's just something about meeting together with that many others who believe the way you believe, who are going after the Lord, and worshiping Him...it's good stuff I tell you...good good stuff.

Here is the link to last night's message, it is a MUST to listen to: Please, please, please...it's so encouraging. If you are stressed out...stop what you are doing, lock the kids in another room (okay, maybe don't do that), but you REALLY need to listen to it. :)

Go to this "message page" and scroll to the bottom and you will see on the bottom left "midweek podcast", you want to listen to Oct. 8th's message.

I promise you it will be worth your while.

Alright, I must go finish up stuff around here. Work tonight. I know whoever is reading this is sick of hearing about work...sorry, this blog's about me recording my story...right...so anyway, it's a major part of my story, that I am sure I will want to remember one day....maybe not...just kidding...ANYWAY...I up my patient load tonight by one patient. I know that may not sound like alot, but that's actually "two" because I will have momma AND baby. This is the max I have to take care of during orientation...meaning, once I can prove I can handle 5, I'm good to go.

On the facebook note. Man, how much fun has that been??? I have been able to chat with people who I haven't talked to in YEARS. People who I actually think of VERY often. It makes my heart feel happy.

Okay, out of here....hope you have the MOST AMAZING THURSDAY EVER...oh and just a sidenote...today feels like a Monday, have I mentioned here how my days are ALL messed up??? Well, they are.

Have a great one!

Monique

Preparing For the Encounter...

This was the title of the message Wednesday night at Church. We begin a new series this Sunday at Church of the Highlands called "Encounter", here is what Pastor Chris said about this series on his blog:

"This weekend I begin a new series called “Encounter” - mainly because I believe that most significant, lasting transformation happens when we have a God encounter rather than all the sophisticated church programs ever created".

Wednesday's night message was preparing us for that "Encounter". If you are a Christian, I am sure you have experienced "high" times and "low" times in your walk with the Lord. We talked about some things that contribute to our "heart" getting "hard"...and how we need to "break" those hard pieces out of our hearts.

If you would like to listen to the message you can do so here: Preparing for Encounter

If you want a quick overview from my notes keep reading. :)

(I suggest listening to above link)

Here are some contributing factors to a hard heart....

• Selfishness

James 3:15-18 For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others, it is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

Wow. Ummm, I knew selfishness and jealousy were "earthly", and "unspiritual", but DEMONIC...YIKES. Pastor Chris also explained how selfishness was also us being "wrapped up" in OUR Wolrd...like our jobs, our kid's little league, we get BUSY with OUR life and forget about God and others. YIKES again! I really feel like this is where I got in my life with the store about a year and a half ago. I put my work before God and also before my family. I had my priorities WAY out of line. When I got those back in order I could tell a huge change in my heart. Now, I think this is a constant struggle for us, because it is human nature to "take up for self", but we need to give our life away for others.

The remedy for "selfishness" is "humility".

• Bitterness

This is something that everyone of us will face. It is inevitable that someone is going to hurt us in this life. We can let it eat away at us or we can get over it. Well, easier said than done sometimes...huh? I will tell you that I obviously am dealing with this, because when we got to this point in the message on Wednesday, I couldn't get some things out of my mind...things that I've prayed about, told God that I was turning it over to him....ummmm, seems like a little bitterness just keeps creeping back in, and well, then I started getting bitter about the situation making me bitter, lol....then Pastor Chris said...."people will come to me with their situations and I will say LET IT GO, and then they will say, BUT you don't know what THEY did, LET IT GO, but THEY hurt me, LET IT GO".....

The remedy for "bitterness" is "forgiveness".

Whatever the situation, or whoever the bitterness stems from in our lives we need to start off our day praying to get this OUT of our lives. It may be a process, it may take weeks or longer, but we need to daily pray for a heart of forgiveness. For me, I think I'm fine with the situation I'm dealing with, but then I will have a certain thought pop in my head or hear something that just makes rage go through my blood, ummmm, I don't think this is good, lol...I think it's obvious I need to spend a little more time in prayer about it...when I think about it keeping me from a closer relationship with the Lord, or hardening my heart...well, am I actually going to allow a situation to KEEP me from being closer to the Lord....heck no!

• Sin

We aren't perfect. Yes...this is true. BUT, when we KNOW we are sinning and are NOT bothered by it...well, that's a problem. We need to be constantly asking the Lord to show us things in our lives we need to work on....hey, I promise, if you ask Him, He will show you....for the LOVE He will show you. So be ready!

The remedy of "sin" is "repentance".

We need to repent daily. We need the Lord's Grace and Mercy in our lives...well at least I know I do, :)

I am REALLY excited about this new series. I think it's going to be PACKED too, if Wednesday night was any judge of what Sunday will be like. WOWZA!

So there you have it...it was a VERY good message. One that I think I need to listen to several times through out the year....hope it inspired you.

Okay, off to get ready and clean this house up...and work on more layouts. :) I hope you have the MOST AMAZING Friday EVER!!!!!

 

  

Check This Out....

Ahhhh, a new sermon series at church....Pastor Chris just gave a little teaser of what it's going to be about on his blog...sounds GOOOOOOD! We are getting ready to start a new Fall Semester of Small Groups....we are trying to think some different things to do with our group...hmmmm, okay, back to work for me...just had to share. :)

This Deserves A Sidebar Link....

Lord Make Us Holy.....this was the message at church yesterday. They were making fun of me in small group the other day, because I write on like every available space on my notes they give us on Sundays....yesterday was no exception. I wrote up the sides, around the top...any place that was available. Anyway...I thought this message was just so "life inspiring"....one quote I really liked was:

Life is not about perfection, but preparation...preparing yourself.  It's a process.

I also loved this verse and am wanting to pray it over my life everyday:

(Psalm 139:23-24) Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Pastor Chris spoke of a lady that was over 100 and had been a Christian for over 90 years...he asked what the secret was...and she said, I take inventory every day.

Let's face it...this is so true. We also need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us what we need to work on...(John 16:8) When he (the Holy Spirit) comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.That is between me and the Holy Spirit....or You and the Holy Spirit. Notice the word "convict" not "condemn"....there is a difference.

I really want you to watch the message or listen to it...but for those who may not, let me give a quick overview.

Reasons It's Important to Pursue A Life Of Holiness

• It serves you. An Ungodly relationship will mess you up. Integrity makes you whole.
• Confuse the onlookers...they think Christians are hypocrites. Our lifestyles should be billboards...onlookers should want the God you serve.
• Jesus is coming back for a spotless bride. (remember above quote...it's about preparation...not perfection...and we need to let the Holy Spirit show us areas to work on).

There are Three Types of People

• The man without the Spirit, The Spirit Man, and the Worldly man

How do we go about a life of Holiness?

• Let the Holy Spirit Show you...(above verse)
• Let others help you.

Take off those masks and be real to someone. Have someone in your life you can be honest with...to hold you accountable.

• Let humility enable you.

We have to realize that we HAVE to have God. I haven't got it all together...I need God.

So there is the quick run down of the message...I hope you have 30 minutes or so to listen to it...it's good stuff.

In other news...we went over to the Tanner's yesterday. :) And I have totally been missing out on life with the whole wii thing. How much fun is that??? We ate some yummy food then played bowling (i totally kicked Jer's tail). We had so much fun just hanging out with friends....good times. Jer's family drove through B'ham from Ohio...so we ate dinner with them. My scraproom is almost set up...and DRUMROLL PLEASE.....a position came open at Brookwood that I would like to fill...great shift, good money, but NCLEX has to be passed....soooo that means the girls are going to stay with my mother all week...well during the day anyway, and I'm a studying machine. Yep. The goal is to take it by mid week next week...or the end of next week. YIKES. So I've got a lot of studying to do. Which I need to be doing right now instead of posting...but oh well. Just had to give a recap of the weekend.

Alright, need to get a going....I hope you have the most AMAZING Monday EVER!!!!

Some of My Favorite Messages...

I started a new little typelist over on the right sidebar named, "Some of My Favorite Messages". There are still about two or three that I want to add to this...but these messages made such a HUGE impact on my life.

The first one...Do You Love Me....well, this one I know I did a whole weblog post on way back when. It is all about relationship rather than "religion"...such a good message, especially for those of us who are raised in the Bible Belt.

The next one. Points of Passion. Ummmm, this was when I was going through some MAJOR stress with closing Trussville and the Cart in the mall. It seemed like everything I was doing was failing and it was taking a HUGE toll on my life. Financially things were out of control. This was the time frame that I was physically sick for a couple of months...I had a constant headache, to the point of me going to several doctors to figure out what was the matter with me and then to Jer's mom for her to do a CT scan in LA. I believe I was a basket case in this message from the time he started talking. I cried the WHOLE service. I realized so much in this message about myself.

The final two are the 20/20 Vision Series. These are just AMAZING. Just what you need to listen to to get you going in the right directions.

I have a Wednesday night service that I really like and listen to a lot...I am not sure I know how to link that one...I'll have to figure it out.

I also added the One Year Bible link to the sidebar. I have NOT been doing this everyday like I wanted to, but I am hoping that now I have it linked up on my sidebar I will be more faithful with it...maybe I can even do a little post about it everyday...who knows. We shall see.

If you ever have a few extra minutes on your hands, take a break from what you are doing and listen to these messages.

Totally changing the subject here....but more yard work is on the agenda for today. This is ALL new for me...but my grandmother is going with me today to pick out some flowers. I hope I don't kill them all...I'll have to take some pictures and post them later. I should have done before and after, because the before was VERY sad.

Alright, enjoy your Tuesday.

Monique

Pursuit of Joy Week Two...

Well...I hope you all had an AMAZING Mother's Day. We had a good weekend...Vanessa and Eric came over Friday night, then we went to my Aunt's in Montgomery yesterday afternoon...so a very nice weekend. :) I wanted to post real quick the link to the second message in the New Series at church. I've been telling everyone I know about this series. My aunt listened to it and she has been doing the same...she works for a dentist and she said she has been telling all her patients, lol...it's such a good series.

This week was about "Joy Killers" and it is based on finding joy in your relationships (family, co-workers, friends). Such a good message. Pursuit of Joy Part Two. I am trying to work on this area of my life. I'm trying to focus on my "relationships" and not just "me". I love in the beginning of the message Pastor Chris tells a story about a way that he kind of lost it this past week. I love that he "told" that...that he allowed people to see that he was "real"...not perfect. I think we think you have to be perfect to be a Christian...you don't...just striving to be better and working on our relationship with Him. I don't know about you, but I am FAR FAR FAR from being perfect...trust me.

Jer said thanks for all the "congrats" about the job. Again, we are sooooo excited. I have him for one more week, so we are getting ready to do a little more work in the yard. By the way...if you know any good remedies for Poison Ivy, we would love to hear them. Jer got in it REALLY bad and I think I just got a bunch of bug bites. Jer got in poison ivy last  year and ended up having to go to the doctor, but he would prefer to not have to get on steroids again...so any suggestions would be appreciated. ;)

I hope you have a good start to the week.

Monique