Princess Party

Princess Party 2008 was awesome. Danielle and Megan did a great job, again. I think it's so important to remind our youth often, especially young girls, that they are valuable in a way that no one else is and that they are unique and important, in an effort to help them raise standards for themselves and act and feel like the royalty they truly are.

Resound, Running, & Redemption

Resound ~ The only way to describe it is that I saw with my own eyes people who put their God-given talents and gifts to work, including myself, with no expected rewards or excessive compensation, for exactly what God had planned for them to be used for, and I found myself in the midst of the realization that this is truly where my heart is. Some questioned why I would want to take on such a project and assumed that because I'm busy all the time with work and family I don't need any extra stressors or extra responsibilities. True! Very true. And, admittedly, I don't particularly love being on the administrative side of things. But I'm good at it, and where there's a need for any talent, whatever it may be, it's to be used for the glory of God, not selfishly hidden away...these talents and responsibilities were given to us for a reason! What's more, I absolutely love seeing a good concept and all of its elements come together so beautifully like Resound did, especially when we kind of just blindly jumped into it not knowing what to expect exactly, and it ended up definitely being a success! Of course, the fact that Resound just happened to be a worship event made it that much easier for me to give my time and effort willingly.

Onto running. In my half-marathon training, I'm due to run 7 miles in the morning. I know it sounds crazy (even I sometimes think I have lost my mind!), but I'm really excited to go, mostly because when I'm running it's MY time. I get an awesome workout, I get to listen to music (sounds dumb but I really never get to!), I get to sort out my thoughts without any interruptions, and I get to enjoy creation around me. Though afterwards my body feels the effects of that much intense movement, my mind is clear and I feel mentally amazing, like I could conquer the world...or at least the laundry. ;)

And finally, onto redemption. I just started reading "Destined to Reign" by Joseph Prince, a pastor of a large church in Singapore who works closely with Hillsong, another church located in Australia. Now, I am not really into all of those self-help, make-your-life-better-by-doing-this books, and even this one struck a wrong chord in me when I first picked it up. Not that I don't agree with a lot of what those pastors or leaders are trying to convey (in this case, the message of grace), but it's the way they convey it and the way they market it...it TOTALLY makes a difference. But this one, I started to read and I couldn't put it down. There were so many scripture-based truths that it actually drew me in..he does such a good job of giving scripture and backing it up with comprehensive examples, not just giving his own personal opinion and then backing it up with scripture. And I loved how he said that we shouldn't take anyone's word for it, including his, but that we should always make note of what the bible says about any issue because that is ultimately the last word. I really think that it's worth taking a peek at, and I wouldn't take the time to say that about just any old book...and on the message of grace, I think we would all be better off if we would just come to a better understanding of what grace actually is and why it is we have recieved this amazing gift from God.

And that's it for now.

There is NOTHING better....

than to be surrounded by the sweet presence of God.

Hello friends ~ I wanted to invite you to Resound, a worship conference being held at Vinelife Church on Friday and Saturday, September 12th and 13th. Worshipping is not just about singing songs, and it's not just about being musically gifted and/or being the best at what you do. Rather, our first priority in worship should be to glorify our Creator and to take the words that we sing and the many other ways in which we worship and apply them to our daily lives to essentially inspire and influence those around us, and, ultimately, through worship, we as the body of Christ can positively impact the world. These are the things that will be demonstrated at this conference in a comprehensive yet sincere manner. Please prayerfully consider joining us as we learn, grow, and worship together.

For more information, click on the link below:

http://www. vinelife. com/events/resound-worship-conference