My thoughts on the Golden Globes

So, the Golden Globes are my favorite award show. Here are my thoughts on tonight's...

I don't love any one's dress so far.
I never saw John Adams but apparently it is fanstinkintastic.
Drew Barrymore's look is growing on me...I get it...old Hollywood bombshell.
Megan Fox dressed older than she is.
Tony Shalhoub and Kyra Sedgwick should have won.
Colin Farrell was fabulously sarcastic...love it!
Everytime I see David Duchovny talking to a woman, I think...wellll hhmmmm.
Don Cheadle called Brad Pitt dumb...love him!
Kate Beckinsale does not look good enough to be Jason's person tonight.
Angelina looks beautiful in an I-didn't-try-at-all way.
People with written speeches are goobers.
Someone just thanked everyone in India...all 1 billion of them.
David just referred to his wife, but I thought he was getting a divorce.
30 Rock must also be a show I should watch.
Ricky Gervais was hilarious! I'm not even sure who he is.
Tina Fey rocks.
Emma Thompson is DRUNK.
I think that Rumer Willis' hair matches her dress...I like it, though.
I like that Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio seem to actually like each other.
Blake Lively's dress does not fit properly.
Sandra Bullock and Cameron Diaz look beautiful.
Slumdog Millionaire is something else I guess I should see.
Yay! My new fav, Colin, won!
I do love Kyra's dress. She looks great.
Renee Zellweger looks weird. I don't hate it...no, maybe I do hate it.
J. Lo's dress...seriously?
Sigourney Weaver forgot to do her hair.
Kate Winslet is precious...she looks beautiful and is so sweet.

So that's it. Not a bad show...not great either. Oh and I remember my person...Jake Gyllenhaal.

Food Pantry Update for 1.6.09

Good Morning! This morning we were able to serve 45 people. I am thrilled by the way God is working. He has big plans, and He has invited us to work with Him. How exciting is that?!?! We had new and returning helpers this week which always makes it easier on the staff and also spreads the joy of serving. So if you need a boost of joy, call and see when you can help. Marie came this morning obviously pregnant. I wonder how her child will grow up. Will he or she ever hear about our Lord? Marie came late and very timid. My heart aches for those with hurts deeper than we can reach. We pray to a God who knows those hurts and has the power to heal them! Hallelujah!!!

First Impressions...

So, I have been pondering the idea of first impressions for awhile because of a conversation I had with a friend after an intense Bible study that revealed much about someone I don't know very well. Everybody has heard the saying "you never get a second chance to make a first impression" and I get that in some situations good first impressions are extremely important...BUT...if your first impression is a good one, don't you hope that that impression is also how people who know you well would describe you?
I will admit that I don't generally make good first impressions. I am shy and reserved. It is not my nature to be the first to say hello or start small talk with people I don't know well. If you have seen me doing it...I was probably uncomfortable. God has a sense of humor and had me marry a man whose life was going to be on display...so I am continually pushed to step outside of my comfort zone. So, maybe, if you know me well...the first impression is not the one you have now. But shy is not necessarily a bad thing.
So, after this Bible study (on marriage) I was surprised to learn some things about someone, and I was talking to a friend who was less surprised because she has spent more time with him. I thought he was a nice man, but people who know him better would disagree. That is too bad.
The more I think about it the more I hope that that isn't true of me. Would my husband or closest friends say the same thing about me as people who still just have those first few good impressions? I know we all have sin that the average acquaintance doesn't know about but does that sin define you to the people you know well. Does it define me? Or am I someone constantly trying to be like Christ...struggling with sin but moving forward in my walk as opposed to standing still or falling back? I don't want sin to define me. I want Christ to define me.

Scripture Memory

It won't shock anyone when I say I am a faithful "siesta" or reader of Beth Moore's blog. I love it! Beth has challenged the siestas to memorize Scripture with her this year and I am excited to do it. Sometimes you just need a push to do something that you know you should already be doing. So I am thankful for the push. The challenge is to memorize 2 verses a month...on the first and fifteenth of each month you log in with the Scripture that you want to memorize (we aren't all doing the same thing!). Today, I went on and wrote the passage I chose and had the chance to read all of the passages other seistas chose. I loved it. What a fabulous way to pour over Scripture! I even fell in love with a verse and chose it for the fifteenth. I am really already having fun with it. The whole point of doing it together is accountability. I am going to post my progress on this blog as well because it is much smaller and will account for more immediate accountability.

If you want to take the challenge, sign up here.
and then start here.

Since it is the 1st...I chose to start with the meaning of it all...

John 1:14
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

and here is the gem I found for the 15th...

Jeremiah 15:16 (NIrV)
"When I received your words, I ate them. They filled me with joy. My heart took delight in them. Lord God who rules over all, I belong to you."

I hope you join us!

Food Pantry Update for 12.23.08

So far this morning we have served 35 people. I expect a few more will trickle in before 11:00. With school being out this week, we had more children here. I hope that even these small encounters will shape their view of church. Church should be seen as a loving, giving, accepting place, so if NBCC can be that in the lives of their parents and grandparents maybe their children will also form that opinion. In addition to the children who came to receive, we had several children come to serve, both on Monday to pack bags and on Tuesday to hand them out. What an important lesson to teach our young people! Church is fun for kids...that is not a bad thing, but we need to make sure that they see us living out what they are learning each week. Knowing Christ is so much about what we do.

This is Our God

So, I am not in the choir mostly because I am busy when they do their thing. I am in the nursery on Wednesdays when they practice and sitting with my 2 older children during the worship service when they sing (Troy is busying being a bouncer...uh, I mean greeter/seater for those who come in after the worship service has started). But I love to sing and lead worship at our women's events so our music dude, David, asked me to sing in the Christmas Cantata. He bent over backwards to include me so of course I said yes. I have enjoyed the experience. It is has been nice to spend a little bit of time with some people I don't normally hang out with and singing with this choir is a joy because so many of them genuinely worship as they are singing.
My favorite part has been the music. Some of the songs were fun and some beautiful but a few were moving. One stood out. It is beautiful musically but the words are profound. I love it and wanted to share it with you.

This is Our God

Who is this Child asleep in the manger,
tender and mild, this intimate Stranger?
Recklessly, wildly, loving a dangerous world.
Who is this Light invading our darkness?
Glorious might His Son rising for us,
conquering might, He captures the hardest of hearts.
We sing

This is our God, living and breathing,
call Him courageous, relentless and brave
This is our God, loving and reaching
offering mercy and mighty to save.
Hallelujah, this is our God! Hallelujah, this is our God!
Hallelujah, this is our God! Sing praise. Sing praise.

Who is this One who will not condemn us?
Why would He come to shoulder our sentence?
Nothing we've done will keep Him from giving us grace.
Who is this One? We watch and we're speechless.
God's only son, embracing our weakness.
He overcomes all death and He frees us live.
We sing

This is our God, suffering and dying.
Call Him the hero redeeming the lost.
This is our God, Love sacrificing
all that is holy, accepting our cross.
Hallelujah, this is our God! Hallelujah, this is our God!
Hallelujah, this is our God! Sing praise. Sing praise.

Food Pantry Updates for 12.9 and 12.16

(12.9) This week we were able to help 36 families. I really appreciate Lisa James who came to help us pass out food, and Troy greatly appreciates Shauna Powell's help on Monday afternoon packing bags. We had a really peaceful morning due to these ladies' help. Lisa and I were able to spend some time with Jennifer and her daughter, Tiara. Jennifer has Crone's disease and was recently laid off. She is the single mother of 4 children. She was a lovely woman with a beautiful little girl. I cherish the time we were able to show both of them Christ's love and compassion.

(12.16) Good Morning Friends (You know, I miss typed that at first, and it said God morning - I hope it has been a morning filled with God for you)!
I am overjoyed to tell you that I saw 3 of our food pantry regulars at church on Sunday (to be honest I am surprised I was able to save telling you until today...I was so excited). God is using this ministry. This morning we were able to serve 35 people. We were a little worried things would be hectic this morning because we have new paperwork for people to fill out, but God's peace has covered us on Tuesday mornings. I had the great privilege of taking Annette aside and praying with her because her husband was at job interview while she was here. We held hands and lifted him and their family up in prayer. It was such a blessing to me. I can't wait to hear how it went next week! On the note of jobs, we think it would be beneficial to offer help on resumes and things of that nature to the people that come on Tuesdays. If that is a particular strength of yours and you would be willing to help with that, please let us know.