The new home update...

That's right! Darrel and I are getting to build our own home. Well not personally. In fact, the idea of Darrel and I building a home or anything with a hammer is as possible as you knowing what kind of geeky tech podcasts we listen to on date nights. (Merlin Mann, TechCrunch, TWIT tv...in case you are ever curious)

We never thought this would be possible, but we count it a blessing that we are building a home. Now we are currently the residents above Sopapilla's bar and restaurant. But in November 2010 we put down money to begin the building process in Gateway Village. So literally, at the back of our current neighborhood---we're building our little home. I'll update pictures as they come.

Today we got foundation! WOOT WOOT! and framing begins this week...Here are the pictures I've been taking over the last few months, from today to November 2010.

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A Biblestudy template for studying the bible

I have been journeying with Karla Worley and some other women at our church for a 6 week series over lunch that gives people tools and questions to help them study the bible for themselves. It's Hermeneutics! It's a great refresher course for those of you that have been to seminary and a must for those who have never been taught how to read the bible for yourself. To help those of us who want to study the bible and have a record of it digitally, I've created a google template. If you would like to download this for your own personal use, you need a gmail account. You can download the template to work within your google documents and it will FOREVER store your biblestudy research on passages you study. Below is a NON-WORKING FORM. If you go through all the blanks you can insert data but it will not be able to be submitted. But this is what the form will look like if you download it in a google document. DOWNLOAD THE BIBLESTUDY TEMPLATE INTO YOUR GOOGLE DOCUMENTS HERE

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A weekend of remembering, celebrating, and making new memories...

Can't believe that these girls are old enough to graduate. I remember when I first took on their lifegroup in 8th grade.

They were loud, giggly, wiggly, sweet girls. We were lucky if we got one spiritual nugget into their lives at the end of an hour because we chased so many rabbits. We initiated the SLUG rule. Someone had given me this weird plastic SLUG toy so whoever had the SLUG got to talk. However, someone stole my SLUG. I remember one night I thought it would be cool to create a campfire like experience in our classroom. I downloaded a fake fireplace screensaver on my computer and tried to set up a tent but the tent had been moldy so it all backfired but we had a great time remembering. I remembered when one of our girls told our lifegroup that her sister had led her to Christ at our fall retreat. I remembered explaining what a Hebrew wedding ceremony looked like and how that imagery impacts the way Jesus taught that a marriage should be. I remembered the other leaders and I sharing our wedding albums with the girls and I remembered not being able to hold back tears when I saw my wedding video play for the first time in quite awhile---I remember seeing them tear up with me. I remember them making silly t-shirts for me and the other leaders when our wedding anniversaries came around. I remember praying with them and for them as we stood arm in arm in a circle this weekend in front of a lake house. I am honored to be a girls minister and blessed to be involved with this group of young women. So thankful for the short time I've had with them and looking forward to all that God does in and through them.

A day with my mom...

Yesterday started early with bootcamp and then a nice breakfast with a friend at Franklin Merc. I took a prayer retreat day yesterday and did a lot of praying and thinking as I took in a lot of beautiful scenery.

Sometimes for me the best thing for me to do is just shut up---and not hear myself speak. That was what I did the majority of yesterday. Just needed a day to "Be still and know that He is God." I did have a wonderful lunch with the hubby downtown at Demo's but the rest was just quiet time. Then I made a spontaneous late night trip to my home to see my mom. I hadn't realized I had not been home in over a year. Now I talk to my mom everyday and have spent some weeks with her in Asia and when she has come to visit so I'm not that bad of a daughter...but nonetheless---it was good to drive home late last night and see her.

Today we drank sassafrass tea...ran some necessary errands for her...tried a new restaurant...took a nap....walked around washington park for awhile listening to the carillon tower bells, fed the ducks, talked, laughed, got goose poop on our shoes, ate pony shoes at the lime street cafe, saw someone I went to highschool with, and talked with an old neighbor friend. Then we came home and pushed her truck out of the garage to be picked up early on Saturday morning. Had lots of memories flood my head today. Saw where I went to preschool. SO MUCH you forget until you come home. Even if it was for a day....it was good to be home.

I will drive back tomorrow but I am glad for spontaneous drives to see and spend time with mom. Happy Mother's day mom!



A panaromic shot of Washington park. I created this shot by using Pano on my iphone and stitching 9 photos together. It was beautiful all around us.




The Carillon tower that played pretty pretty bell music! It was built in the early 1900's.




The pond out in front of where I went to Preschool. I went to preschool in an amazingly beautiful place.



Here is my preschool! This is where I first believed in Leprechauns. This is where my dreams were crushed when I had to call my preschool teacher and discover they weren't real.



This is my mom and I.



This is me with some geese.




This lil goose kept following me. I think he knew I had bread. He stopped after I ran out of bread.

JOIN THE SOCIAL...

I am excited to announce that we are releasing BETA invitations to join the social network for girlsminister.com. The social network is being housed at www.mygirlsministry.com. Head on over and log in...once you are registered, we will contact you with a BETA invitation if you are pass the inspection:).

Say Hello to girlsminister.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:



Because Girlsministry is more than just pink and tiaras---JOIN THE CONVERSATION that is going on at www.girlsminister.com.

The Girlsminister.com team is excited to announce that the new girlsminister resource and conversation blog has begun. Girlsminister.com seeks to shape the conversation of how to minister to girls by being an opensource community. What is most exciting is that this is a place for dialogue and connections to begin and continue. The girlsminister.com team will be hosting webisodes, posting freebies, and providing content as well as moderating the BETA girlsminister social network for moms, girls ministers, youth ministers and those who mentor girls. The team starting this conversation consists of moms, girls ministers from the US and even the UK, teenage girls, and women leaders who have a heart for girls.

If you are interested in being a part of the BETA SOCIAL NETWORK, go to www.girlsminister.com and click the box at the bottom right that says "JOIN THE SOCIAL". The Conversation is going on...don't miss out!

Pfunky griddle

Today Darrel and I tried out a new to us restaurant that I have been hearing about. It's called The Pfunky Griddle. We are officially adding it to our list of places we like to eat. Love it. It has a griddle-in the-middle of each table. The owner seated us and was super sweet to tell us her faves and then after we were done it started raining so hard. We had already paid but the owner told us we could gran some coffee and wait out the storm. I felt like I was visiting as friends house.