LETS STOP SLAVERY!!!!

"Jesus we'll be living for your glory!" Matt Redman

Matt Redman was at Passion this year and he was awesome! It was so neat worshiping with him and 45,000 other people! So I'm sitting here at work thinking back to Passion 2012! It was an amazing experience! 

Passion in my mind is a tiny picture to what heaven will be like.. I know that sounds a bit odd but there is something so spectacular about 45,000 people singing praise to our creator! 

Talking about my week at passion gives me goose bumps. It was a week filled with great teaching from Luie Giglio, John Piper, Francis Chan, Beth Moore and Christine Cain. 

We worshiped with some amazing musicians like Hillsong United, David Crowder, Kristian Stanfield, Charlie Hall, Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin. 

The Do Something Now theme for this year was FREEDOM! Our eyes were open to the fact that right now our world has more slaves than it ever has. 

27 MILLION PEOPLE 

are enslaved and I know most people when they read that foreign countries come to mind but the sad truth is its happening right here in our backyard. White flags were hung for every 1,000 slaves! So we would get a tiny grasp of just how many people are enslaved.

The 45,000 of us at passion were moved to do something about this, and in 3 days raised close to 7million dollars! The coolest thing about Passion 2012 wasn’t the thousands of people singing “How Great is Our God” or the sweet testimonies from students led to help the victims of slavery but it was the clear fact that God was present and moving in the lives of everyone in the Georgia Dome. 

Lives were changed.

There is a ministry here in Tyler that my Church is serving and it houses women that have been forced into sex trafficking called Refuge of Light. 

This is a short video about the sad truth that Human Trafficking is happening.. 

and Refuge of Light is a way we can be a part of stopping it!

Just a normal day at the office..

Its lunchtime and all I have here in the office is a laffy taffy from Ellen’s treat bowl.. So I guess that’s not so normal…



Its official my cousin Joni bought her and the kiddos tickets back to Texas and should be coming back this Wednesday night. Praise the Lord! It’s been such a fun journey by just reading the blog everyday! I can’t wait to meet my beautiful cousins. It’s going to be a tough journey for my cousin, her husband and all the kids as Tanya and Alex get use to life here in America. They have to learn English and the culture and get use to 4 new brothers and sisters. I know that the Lord has big plans for this wonderful family and will give them all the patience and love they need to get through the hard times ahead. The Lord will definitely give you more than you can handle.. the good thing is He will be right there to help you through it all.

Pray, Pray, Pray...

My good friend Ellen just came back from Uganda after an amazing week of working with hundreds of orphans and children. All her stories are about how sweet the children are and how much they love the Lord. It’s really been good for me to hear these stories, hearing about these children crying out to the Lord with sincere hearts made me reevaluate my walk with the Lord. This week has been physically and emotionally exhausting. I’ve had a headache since last Thursday which turned out to be tension/sinus migraine according to the Dr. Krachman who gave me some great Muscle relaxers that are definitely helping.

I know the Lord has some big plans ahead and that’s where the emotional exhaustion is coming from because I’ve been trying to figure out where He wants me. After lots of praying ive come to the realization that He wants me to be still in His arms and know He is God and He has it under control.

I have two new cousins!

Hey Friends!

This past week it was official.. I have two new adopted cousins Tanya and Alex Redding!
Both adopted from the Ukraine and should be touching U.S. soil any day now!
Y'all check out my cousin Joni's Blog about the adoption process it will make you laugh and cry at the same time! If your the slightest bit intrested in adoption read from day one she tells you everything every step of the way! Also say a quick prayer for them Joni and her friend Liz are in the Ukraine with the kids right now and should be coming home Wednesday Lord willing!


http://www.teamredding.blogspot.com/

Tyler Life...

Well I have moved back to Tyler for the summer... so I think!

I love Tyler. I love the people the shopping all the new restaurants and my new favorite... a grocery store Brookshire’s chain called FRESH! Wow.. The place is amazing! Ellen (my Boss/great friend) went today and checked it out! 2 hours later left with more than we thought we would have. We made our own ALMOND BUTTER!! How cool is that?! and its so good. It’s made by these really cool machines that with a push of a button grinds almonds into your bowl and add a little honey and boom you have almond butter.



I’m excited to see what happens this summer.. it’s already been amazing! Just got back from Colombia last Tuesday, ill have to post some pictures soon. It was wonderful trip, amazing experience and life changing indeed!



Tomorrow I leave for Alabama to help clean up from the Tornados that hit really hard not to long ago. Were taking a pretty small group this year but it should be really good. I’m ready to get my hands dirty and serve the Lord and the people whose lives were ripped apart when the Tornados hit.



I have been reading the Lineage Of Grace by Francine Rivers.. it is an awesome book!



Cool Story- I met with a few girls who have a community group that gets together on Thursday nights and I asked what they were doing. Just so happens they are all going through the Lineage of Grace! How cool is that? I know that sounds weird to be going through a book and not a book of the Bible.. But this book is really cool and Francine Rivers did a great Job of writing these stories and letting her readers know she’s added to these stories for an extra taste of what went on in these days.. And she pushes her readers to dig into Gods word and to compare it with what she has written and really learn this stuff for ourselves! So im really excited to get together with my new friends and see what they have to say about the book. IF you haven’t read it, go get it and read it its good!

COFFEE!!

MMM... is it bad its 12:15 and I’m still drinking coffee! NO it’s not bad because a recent study shows that coffee actually decreases you chances of several different types of cancer.

Today is going be awesome; I have a bunch of stuff to get done and not much time! I have a check list for Colombia and for Tyler. As the college intern I’m super excited about planning different activities here are some ideas I’ve had…

1. Rangers game (of course)

2. Kayaking/ lake trips

3. Camping

4. Mt. Biking

5. Ultimate Frisbee/ park sports

6. Crafty days

7. Game nights

8. Radical Mondays (service/mission project)

And so on and so on!!

I am reading Radical for the second time. This time I’m reading slower and soaking it all in, that book really hits you hard! I think everyone should read Radical by David Platt it’s a great book!

Busy Busy Busy...

Well I leave for Colombia in 3 days... Super excited but super busy!

I had to slow down and enjoy today though! So I painted my bathroom and cleaned my room and then went to church and hung out with friends afterwards.

I am moving to Tyler this summer and im working as the summer College Intern for Green Acres Baptist Church. So as soon as I get back from Colombia im packing up and moving out! Yesterday I went to Tyler to get paperwork taken care of and visit with some friends :)

Tomorrow A family friend wants to help me out with my trip by taking me to REI and buying me a hiking suitcase and a sleeping bag!! Such a blessing and im so excited! Its been so neat seeing God work things out while im preparing for this trip..

TRUE STORY!

About two weeks ago at work ( family christian bookstore) a man walked in and needed help with picking out some bibles I was busy so he said he would wait for me. After a few minutes I walked over and helped him.. he bought almost every bible I brough him..His exact words were you cant go fishing without the BAIT! he was on a mission to introduce Christ, save souls and put as many bibles in the hands of new belivers as he could! But.. not just any bibles.. he bought the nicest leather study bibles our store carried..  He was such a nice man and I didnt mind helping him, he then proceeded to hand me $50 and tell me he didnt want it back! I was in complete shock all morning I had been thinking about my Colombia trip and how I needed to raise all the money quickly.. $50 was an answer to prayer! He told me I better use it and buy something nice for myself.. I said OH I am! its going straight to my mission trip funds! He paused for a moment and said... No. I want you to use that for yourself... When I come back im gonna give you $100.00 for your trip! I was completly floored! I couldnt believe it or say anything.. He left about $600.00 worth of bibles he had bought with me to ingrave and came back about an hour and a half later. When he came back he asked what the organization was called I was going with and he wrote me a check FOR $200.00 and got his bibles and left!
God is so good! I learned a lesson that day and I am so thankful for God putting Mr. John Reeves in my life that day! The Lord knew my anxious thoughts, and he used Mr. Reeves to remind me that God is my provider and He cares and He loves me and He wants the best for me.

I leave sunday!
Please be praying for the four of us going.. and the hundred children we will be teaching english too!
His will be DONE!!!

Just one of those Great Days!!!

Have you ever had one of those days where you just want to be alone and go shopping!?? Well I had one of those days today, thankfully didn’t spend too much! : )

Bath and Body works has a new favorite smell and it’s Caribbean Escape! So I bought a wallflower and a car smelly good thing! Then I went and washed my car at the 3$ place where you get to vacuum for free! Love it!!

THEN. Went to James Avery :) Favorite place besides Bass Pro Shop! And tried on a few rings with no intentions of buying any of them, here they are.. I love the flower ring :)

I also had my rings that my absolute Best Friend gave me! She REALLY is the best.

And her Birthday is coming up!! Sometime in March I think… ;) LOL



So Today has been a great day! I think I'm going to try something new with this extremely bland blog of mine that only my Beffriend reads.. hahaha So Fun Recipes soon to come!!



XOXO

My baby sisters turned 20 years old today!! Its crazy how fast life is flying by! Today has been a great day.. woke up and went on a run!! I'm trying to get ready for a ski trip I'm going on with my old college group Flashpoint in Tyler. After running I went to work till 6 then went to the store with the twins. I absolutly love coffee and today while we were at the store we found the coolest creamers. I went a little over board and bought almost all of the holiday flavors. They had my favorite which is peppermint mocha as well as mint truffle and gingerbread and eggnog! they were all so good :) we had a coffee party tonight just the 5 of us and we made a big pot of coffee and we tasted all of them! My favorite is still Peppermint Mocha!
I have to go up to the school  in the morning and take one of my last tests of the semester :)

Hey everyone!

Man its cold outside.. I love it! Well today was a wonderful day I got up and went to an Elementary school and I observed some classrooms. First I observed a fourth grade class of 19 kids, they were so sweet. They were all learning about matter and the texture on these leaves that they had picked the week before. After 4th grade I went and observed Kindergarten which I have always wanted to teach, because I love that age! But.. it was a nightmare, but honestly I think it was the teacher she had been gone the past like 4 days and the kids were misbehaving the entire time.. and even during the get your wiggles out song.. she made the kids that were jumping away from the group sit down.. Im not a teacher but I would have been telling them to jump faster and higher and try to wear em out a bit.. So after kindergarted I went to visit the Pre Kindergarden class.. Ok so I was expecting something different as well.. I walked in and there were 3 teachers in one room of like13 kids.. is that nessecary? The kids were so well behaved and they were all working so hard, im still not sure why there were three, the lady I asked could explain why..  my favorite quote from today was from the cutest little Pre-K boy named Logan " OH LORDY, I hope you arent about to play with that little red car right there.. Because I am IN LOVE!!" haha the look on his face as he was saying that to the other boy was pricless!! A funny thing the teachers kept saying was "2-1-0" and "2-1-0" so I finally asked one of the little girls who was closest to me what it ment.. She said with a lysthp "two handth behind your back, one bubble in your moufth, and zero talking" funny huh?! it worked though.

Today my family has recieved some HUGE blessings...

You all know Mission Kiddos is about to take off on our yearly mission trip to the border, this year we are going to Quemado and we have so many kids this year.
#1: My dad is an amazing speaker and he talked to several people and buisnesses today and we have all but 4 of our kids sponsered!!! Woo Hoo!!
#2: We had a very generous gift given towards our mission kiddos trip! We are sooooo Thankful for any penny that comes towards this trip!

Just counting down the days till we leave, its always a life changing trip that not only changes you but the people that we are going to serve! God is amazing and His guidance through all of this MissionKiddos planning and going is beyond awesome.


Thanks for reading and God Bless!!

Hey Friends, and yes I do realize there are only a handful of people that are blogger friends reading this... but anyways Im going to give this another shot and see how it goes.

Today has been a great tuesday :) Went to class and then to work.. Best part was Christmas tree decorations, hot chocolate, family and the fireplace!

This past weekend was an absolute blast and Thanksgiving was so much fun! I drove to Austin to hang out with my newly engaged friends Phillip and Julianne. We has so much fun we went to a couple different parks and I took some engagement pics! They turned out pretty good.. but it helped my subjects were so cute together!

So tomorrow I am going to be observing some elementary schools pretty much all day to finish up some observation hours I still need to finish off the semester. Procrastination.. Not good! But it WILL get done.. I love 4 year olds the most... Looking forward to sharing some funny qoutes with yall tomorrow! Anyways.. Thanks for reading and God Bless!

Perfect Submission

This past week Mission Kiddos took a group of 16 people down to the Rio Grande Valley to Inglesia Bautista Calvario in Weslaco! I love being in the Valley, its where it all started I went on a couple mission trips down there with my youth group and once with my dad, the need there is so clear! One summer my family went down there on our very first family mission trip and we went with a purpose to provide for this small community in Mission, TX. We had a trailer full of clothes and shoes that were all given by friends and family, and hands full of tracks explaining the plan of salvation. We had a huge garage sale and sold Academy bags full of clothes for a dollar a bag! The look on their faces when we said "un dolar por bolsa" was pricless! As my parents, twin sisters and I organized, talked to the parents and children and practically gave clothes away it was such a great feeling to give. I have always heard "its better to give than to recieve" because of the feeling that comes with giving, the joy of knowing its helping someone, or it just brought a smile to their face whether it cost you something or nothing.

Makes me think about God and how He gave His only son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for you and me! And how Jesus went to the cross and gave his life so that we may have everlasting life! WOW.. Lord increase my faith! I have had so many moments where I say, Lord, here am I send me.. hello, right here ME, Pick me!!!
and then those times I feel He is leading me in a direction that is just the slightest bit uncomfortable and I freak out and dont feel able, prepared or just plain willing to follow. I would love to say its the earthly things that make me freak out.. family, friends, home, ...walmart! But I know its me, and my itsy bitsy faith.. WHY? When Christ died on the cross for ME, why cant I trust enough to do the small things he asks me?
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and lean not on to your own understanding!
Not part of your heart and some of your own understanding..
Trust in Him completly and dont let anything you think get in the way.. not comfort, not your own desires, not simple...



Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.