1st Annual Steven LifeClass Beach Retreat

This past weekend, we had the great opportunity to spend three days at the beach with our Sunday School. It was a great time to just relax, have fun, and get closer to the people in our class, especially since we only see eachother once a week. We had a really great time! Luke and I have been so super busy and this was our chance to do nothing. My biggest decision of the day was "do I want to read on the couch, or read on the beach?, hmmmmm, tough one." It was also a great time of fellowship. We spent time in prayer together, we all shared our testimonies, and took communion together. We were just one big family!! What fun, we really hope this becomes a yearly tradition for our class. Check out pictures from our weekend!

Hymns For Life II

Redeemed by Fanny J. Crosby. I've been singing this non stop all weekend long.

Redeemed—how I love to proclaim it!

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;R

edeemed through His infinite mercy,

His child, and forever, I am.

Chorus:

Redeemed, redeemed,

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed, redeemed,

His child, and forever, I am.

Chorus

Redeemed and so happy in Jesus,

No language my rapture can tell;

I know that the light of His presence

With me doth continually dwell.

Chorus

I think of my blessed Redeemer,

I think of Him all the day long;

I sing, for I cannot be silent;

His love is the theme of my song.

Chorus
I know I shall see in His beauty

The King in whose way I delight;

Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps,

And giveth me songs in the night.

Chorus

The last stanza is special to the writer. Fanny was blind since she was an infant so in the end when she says "I know I shall see in His Beauty...", that would have been the first thing she would have seen. A pastor once told a story about her. Someone was talking about her blindness and pitying her. She said that no one dare pity her, because the first face she would ever see was the face of her Savior. Wow!

No Pics This Time

Luke and I have been very busy but unfortunately, we don't have any pictures. In the last couple of weeks we:

- went to greenville for the day to see some friends and ended up and the Pirate Fest!
- Luke's younger brother Daniel and his finace Alina had a wedding cookout.
- We attended a Seder dinner at providence put on by my Precepts Bible Study to participate in Passover as Christ would have. Luke's parents joined us!
-Missy went to the Vet and I got fussed at real bad because she gained 3lbs. in one year. FOR SHAME ROCKIE!!!!
-We went to a Mudcats Baseball game for Family Fun Day with the girls at work.

Luke continues to be really busy with his two jobs and I'm the same with my crazy kids. Somethings that we're looking forward to: Long weekend at the Beach with our Sunday School class, seeing my best friend Pam. And seeing Brain and Rachel Henderson and finally meeting their little girl, Abby!

Here's a picture:
This is Goldie/Savannah. One day, she was just wondering the apartments and she followed Luke upstairs. We walked around hoping someone would be looking ofr her but no luck. She lived with us for about 4 hours. She was soooo sweet. You may see a collar, but no tags. (what's the collar for then). So we named her Goldie. She was really good and obedient very very playful, which is why we were sure she was lost, not a stray. Anywho, Luke made a sign to post by the mailboxes when he found a sign left by the owner. Poor girl, she was sobbing and sobbing when we met her and she tried to offer us money at which point I almost started crying. Turns out her name was Savannah! Put tags on your dogs people!!

My Beautiful Family

I just got this beautiful picture in the mail this week. This is my only sister and my nephew and neices. Malikhi 8, Zhayla 5, and Kelis 2 and Suzie the mom of course! Boy are they growing. I totally go crazy when I see how big they are getting. I've seen all of them when they were just a minute old and now they're huge. They live in Greensboro and I don't see them nearly as much as I should. Let this be a reminder to me that they are growing fast and I need to spend as much time with then as possible. Love you all!!!!

Hymns For Life I

Luke and I absolutely love hymns. I didn't used to but God moved my heart towards a different appreciation of them. This one is called Victory in Jesus. Luke and I have been listening to it and singing it together alot.

I heard an old, old story,

How a Savior came from glory,

How He gave His life on Calvary

To save a wretch like me;

I heard about His groaning,

Of His precious blood's atoning,

Then I repented of my sins;

And won the victory.

O victory in Jesus,

My Savior, forever.

He sought me and bought me

With His redeeming blood;

He loved me ere I knew Him,

And all my love is due Him,

He plunged me to victory,

Beneath the cleansing flood.

I heard about His healing,

Of His cleansing power revealing.

How He made the lame to walk again

And caused the blind to see;

And then I cried, "Dear Jesus,

Come and heal my broken spirit,"

Then I obeyed His last command

And gained the victory.

O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him,
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.

I heard about a mansion

He has built for me in glory.

And I heard about the streets of gold

Beyond the crystal sea;

About the angels singing,

And the old redemption story,

And some sweet day I'll sing up there

The song of victory.

O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him,
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood.

My Favorite part is when it says, " He loved me ere I knew Him". It reminds me of how God chose me and pursued me because He loves me, before I even knew Him or wanted to know him. I hope this hymn is an encouragment to you!

Bilingual Dog

I think Missy is learning spanish. My name for her in spanish is Missy-ondes. I don't know where I got it from it just came out. Then I say "Missy-ondes, donde estas?" which means, where are you? I've started saying to her, "Missy ven!" short for venga which means come! And she comes! I'm probably kidding myself though. All she probably hears is "wawawa wawa Missy wawawa wawa". Like the Charlie Brown teacher. Oh well, I hope I teach our children spanish better than I'm doing with MissyGirl!

She loves her panda bear!

Friends to Visit and a New Tradition

The weekend hasn't quite started yet and we've alreay had a handful of visitors. But that's okay because that's the way that we like it. We've also decided to start a new tradition. We've started to take a picture of everyone who comes to visit sitting on our big red chair.

First, on Thursday, we had Ben and Mary come over for dinner. They are friends from our Sunday School class at church.
This was our first time having quality time with them and we had a lot of fun. It was also my first time making beef stew. Everyone seemed to enjoy.

Then the Bryant family (minus daddy) came to visit. They live in Washington State but mom's family is here in Raleigh. Rachel and Jared are high school friends of Luke's, but they're my friends now too. They have twin 1yr. old boys, Jackson and Jaden and they are super sweet. Last time we "saw" them, they were in mommy's belly! They are on the move. We tried to baby proof our home as much as we could but they still find ways to get to things. We were worried how Missy would react to these little people crawling around everywhere. She was actually really good and just sniffing and exploring. She appeared to be on a rollercoaster ride of calm and scared. If the boys were being carried, she was jumping and barking. If they were playing with loud toys, she would get super anxious and go hide behind Luke. Everywhere the boys crawled, she ran right after them. Jaden even touched her right in her face and she was fine, which is really great for Missy. Overall, we were very proud of her.

Rachel was great about Missy and everything. I truly believe that God makes moms of twin boys with extra amounts of EVERYTHING!!!Fun times were had by all! It was great to finally meet you Jackson and Jaden!!

Jesus, I Come

From the life and mind of William T. Sleeper, comes this compostion from the 1800's. The words of this hymn are really humbling and inspiring. I wonder what experiences William underwent to squeeze these words out of his soul. Amen Will, Amen.

(PS- You might want to pause/mute the music before reading to gain the full Iambic pentameter)

Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,Jesus, I come to Thee;Out of my sickness, into Thy health,Out of my want and into Thy wealth,Out of my sin and into Thyself,Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of my shameful failure and loss,Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,Jesus, I come to Thee;Out of earth’s sorrows, into Thy balm,Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm,Out of distress to jubilant psalm,Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of unrest and arrogant pride,Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;Into Thy blessed will to abide,Jesus, I come to Thee;Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,Out of despair, into raptures above,Upward for aye on wings like a dove,Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;Into the joy and light of Thy home,Jesus, I come to Thee;Out of the depths of ruin untold,Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,Ever Thy glorious face to behold,Jesus, I come to Thee.