yes, i am actually still alive. i obviously haven't written in awhile. life has been crazy lately. blogging has been on the back burner...actually, it hasn't even made it to a burner until today!
a quick update...i am pregnant and expecting a baby GIRL november 22! we are all very excited. i think jonah doesn't really like to think about it, but once she's here, he'll love it! he's already such a good big brother. he'll give her (my belly) kisses and say 'i love you'! it's very sweet. but if we ask if he wants a little sister, he says, 'no!' it's cute.
like i said before, life has been very crazy lately. well, i 'discovered' this song last week. have you ever heard a song and felt like the songwriter took the words straight from your heart? that's how i felt when i heard 'faith to be strong' by andrew peterson. it has since become the cry of my heart so i thought i'd share it with you.
Give us faith to be strong
Father, we are so weak
Our bodies are fragile and weary
As we stagger and stumble to walk where you lead
Give us faith to be strong
Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it's hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong
Give us peace when we're torn
Mend us up when we break
This flesh can be wounded and shaking
When there's much too much trouble for one heart to take
Give us peace when we're torn
Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it's hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong
Give us hearts to find hope
Father, we cannot see
How the sorrow we feel can bring freedom
And as hard as we try, Lord, it's hard to believe
So, give us hearts to find hope
Give us faith to be strong
Give us strength to be faithful
This life is not long, but it's hard
Give us grace to go on
Make us willing and able
Lord, give us faith to be strong
Give us peace when we're torn
Give us faith, faith to be strong
Friday, July 18
Wednesday, January 23
1 and a 1/2
i can't believe how fast time has flown by
i never knew how easily he would steal my heart
i don't think i could ever love him more...
but every new day i realize that i do!
Saturday, January 12
life on the coast
well, we've been in brunswick for 2 months now. we absolutely love it here! it's been so nice to not have to worry with snow and ice. granted, it was a little weird to not even need a jacket on christmas day! so, the weather is great, our apartment is wonderful (nothing spectacular to most, but paradise compared to the dump we did live in), the church has been very welcoming, and we're just loving it. i don't think i said before, but tony is the spiritual formation pastor and i am the worship arts pastor. i'm working part-time (although there's really no such thing as a pastor!) and tony is full-time. it's been so nice to finally be involved in service in the way we've been training and waiting for. i'm finding out that i have a lot to learn though! i'm sure that will always be the case. in fact, i hope that will always be the case. i hope i never stop learning. but i'm realizing how much i have to learn as a pastor. it's challenging at times, but all very good. i'm really enjoying it. it's also been exciting for me because not only am i doing things with music, but i'm doing some design and photography stuff too. i've never really done design, so it's all very new to me, but i really like it. it's a lot of fun to start tapping into other creative areas.
there are a lot of new and exciting things happening at the church. i'd be joking myself to think the road's going to be smooth sailing, though. i think it will be a long, challenging road that requires trust in God and patience. but there's something in the wind. there's something in the spirit of worship that i believe is bringing new life. and that makes any hard times i might face worth it. God's doing amazing things and i'm grateful to be apart of it. my continued prayer is that God would use me to lead the people into the throne room. because if we truly enter in, there's no way we won't come out changed.
there are a lot of new and exciting things happening at the church. i'd be joking myself to think the road's going to be smooth sailing, though. i think it will be a long, challenging road that requires trust in God and patience. but there's something in the wind. there's something in the spirit of worship that i believe is bringing new life. and that makes any hard times i might face worth it. God's doing amazing things and i'm grateful to be apart of it. my continued prayer is that God would use me to lead the people into the throne room. because if we truly enter in, there's no way we won't come out changed.
Thursday, October 18
new things
tony and i have accepted the invitation to be pastors at grace community church of the nazarene in brunswick, GA. we are EXTREMELY excited about this new path in our journey. we are moving november 10! i can't believe how fast everything has happened. tony's last day at UPS is a week from tonight. he is literally so happy he could do a dance. (which he actually does...often!) you know the arby's commercial where the monkeys are lined up doing riverdance? tony said that's how he feels. HA! the funny thing is that i can see it.
i'm working right up until we move so that i can make all the money i can. i've been working more nights and i had forgotten how much i like the dinner shift. lunch is kinda boring and people are in such a hurry to get in and get out that they either ignore me or are just plain rude. not everyone, but enough to make it not so much fun for me. plus, for some reason, people don't tip as much at lunch. crazy, but true. it's not even that they spend less either. i haven't quite figured that out yet. so anyway, i'm enjoying being back on dinner shifts. more money + more relaxed people + time-flying-by-quicker = happier stephy!
we have already, almost, secured an apartment to live in. we're waiting on the application process. i'm not foreseeing any bumps there, so hopefully we'll be living right down the road from the church. we're very excited about being able to walk or ride our bikes to church. plus we'll be right across the street from my bro and sis-in-law. that will be nice. i've missed them so much this last year.
so...in the next THREE weeks, we have to pack, finish getting everything here squared away, pack, go to homecoming at TNU the first weekend in november, pack, give away a bunch of stuff we don't need, find a washer/dryer, couch, tv stand, etc, and did i say pack?
ahhhh...it's all so amazingly wonderful. really, it is! i couldn't have imagined something better working out for us. it's awesome how everything has just fallen in place. for so long we were so frustrated because we were so eager and ready to be serving in the church. but it was definitely worth the wait. i know that God is going to continue to do incredible things in brunswick and i'm so excited to be a part of that.
hopefully jonah can withstand all the traveling we're about to embark upon. YIKES! he's a good kid though. i'm sure he'll be marvelous!
speaking of that crazy kid...
yes, he does have my cheeks, but he also has a banana shoved in his mouth!
i'm working right up until we move so that i can make all the money i can. i've been working more nights and i had forgotten how much i like the dinner shift. lunch is kinda boring and people are in such a hurry to get in and get out that they either ignore me or are just plain rude. not everyone, but enough to make it not so much fun for me. plus, for some reason, people don't tip as much at lunch. crazy, but true. it's not even that they spend less either. i haven't quite figured that out yet. so anyway, i'm enjoying being back on dinner shifts. more money + more relaxed people + time-flying-by-quicker = happier stephy!
we have already, almost, secured an apartment to live in. we're waiting on the application process. i'm not foreseeing any bumps there, so hopefully we'll be living right down the road from the church. we're very excited about being able to walk or ride our bikes to church. plus we'll be right across the street from my bro and sis-in-law. that will be nice. i've missed them so much this last year.
so...in the next THREE weeks, we have to pack, finish getting everything here squared away, pack, go to homecoming at TNU the first weekend in november, pack, give away a bunch of stuff we don't need, find a washer/dryer, couch, tv stand, etc, and did i say pack?
ahhhh...it's all so amazingly wonderful. really, it is! i couldn't have imagined something better working out for us. it's awesome how everything has just fallen in place. for so long we were so frustrated because we were so eager and ready to be serving in the church. but it was definitely worth the wait. i know that God is going to continue to do incredible things in brunswick and i'm so excited to be a part of that.
hopefully jonah can withstand all the traveling we're about to embark upon. YIKES! he's a good kid though. i'm sure he'll be marvelous!
speaking of that crazy kid...
yes, he does have my cheeks, but he also has a banana shoved in his mouth!
Wednesday, September 26
i love macbook
so, we got a new mac and i absolutely love it! i will never, EVER go back to a pc. there is seriously no comparison. well, sometimes we like to have too much fun with the mac. and here are examples of that very thing!
and here are just some 'normal' ones!
and here are just some 'normal' ones!
Thursday, September 6
pictures
for some reason, i'm not able to upload pictures to my blog right now. SO...you should check out the link to the right called 'jonah's photo album'. i've put up a lot of new pictures (some taken by our friend steph from church). she's ridiculously amazing!
enjoy!
enjoy!
happy labor day
so i had to work on labor day which was a bummer. it was just lunch, though. tony had the night off so we got to be together then. lori took jonah to the pool while i worked. tony went camping with some guys from church sunday and got back while i was at work. i hate my job...have i mentioned that? it's weird because this is the first time in 3 1/2 years that i just dread going. monday was no different.
well...in the middle of the shift, it all paid off. i had a guy at my table who spent about $14 on his lunch. he left $60 on the table with a note that said he believes in random acts of kindness. WOW! i couldn't believe it. i've had some really great tips before, but that definitely tops them all. now, it was a little strange because he also left me his myspace page...which i did not go to. but hey, i still got a $45 tip! that's 325%!
so, needless to say, that made working on monday worth it. i still hate my job and can't wait to be done, but somehow that was a little ray of hope for me.
i hope everyone else had a great day too!
well...in the middle of the shift, it all paid off. i had a guy at my table who spent about $14 on his lunch. he left $60 on the table with a note that said he believes in random acts of kindness. WOW! i couldn't believe it. i've had some really great tips before, but that definitely tops them all. now, it was a little strange because he also left me his myspace page...which i did not go to. but hey, i still got a $45 tip! that's 325%!
so, needless to say, that made working on monday worth it. i still hate my job and can't wait to be done, but somehow that was a little ray of hope for me.
i hope everyone else had a great day too!
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