Turkey thursday, Black, friday and Leftover Saturday....Oh My!

So this past weekend was the kick off of the holiday season. Millions of Americans gathered around their tables on Thursday and partook of the meal that kicks every other meals booty, it was Thanksgiving ya'll. Whether your family bakes, grills or fries the bird, if you make cranberry sauce from scratch or just plop it out of a can; the feelings and reasons for the meal were all the same! It is the day of the year that our Country decided to set aside every 4th Thursday of November to be thankful for what we have, and who is in our lives. Every family has their traditions, and some of them are the same as the family next door, but your family has their own memories of those traditions and little things that make them yours. Our family fries the turkey, and bakes a ham; we watch the Macy's parade while we cook, and use the "fancy glasses". We eat until we can't move and just hang out. It is always a good day! :-)

Next comes the craziness. The one day a year people of our great nation fund it acceptable and maybe even necessary to beat each other up over bed sheets. Known to us as BLACK FRIDAY, not a year goes by that we do not here about some tragedy over these apparently great deals. I normally don't go out shopping this day because I actually care about my own well being (ever so slightly). Now granted sometimes there are some very nice deals out there, and I will confess to sending my dad out this year to get a camcorder that was on sale (only because I had to work, and he said that only like 7 people showed up at the particular store). However in general for me the sales are not worth the risk. So I stay home and sleep off the turkey coma.

Leftover Saturday can start of Friday, depending on your Black Friday routine. Maybe you work somewhere that opens for regular business on Saturday so you simply go back to work and return to normal life, or maybe you spend it lying on your couch forgetting what day it is every couple of hours. However you spend it, the point is the same.....you have TONS of food left over from Thursday. Now, maybe you are like my family and you just eat ham and turkey sandwiches for a while and occasionally heat up a bit of dressing. Or you might be one of those really creative people who have all of these recipes for leftover turkey; like white chilli, or some sort of stew. But this day, no matter what walk of life you live is the day you decide what to do with the large amount of food left in your fridge.

And that my friends is what we call the kick off to the holiday season! I hope this little observation has found you having a terrifically blessed holiday and may God bless you and Keep you! <3

Share a Smile

Picture provided by Morgan Fuller

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep"~Romans 12:15

When I was a kid I heard someone say; "The best thing to share is a smile". I Don't know who said it, where I heard it or even how old I was when I heard it, but for some reason it has stuck with me.
As I have gotten older the meaning of this phrase has changed. It used to mean just to literally share a smile, smile at everyone you see and you have done a good thing! What a funny concept. Now it means much more than that. It means to not only share a smile, but a REASON to smile. A smile with a reason is more powerful, and more meaningful than just a grin on your face. I hope everyone has a reason to smile everyday, but allow me to give you 6 reasons I smile.

1. God's Grace
2.Jesus' Sacrifice
3.People to go to Dairy Queen with and draw smiles on our hands
4. Family
5. The Lord's Church
6. Heaven

So now I have shared 6 reasons why I smile and hopefully put a smile on your face, because it is the best thing to share! :-)

In the Political world.....

Tonight I have been inducted in to the voting world I suppose. I watched the Vice Presidential Debate, and I will not post my views of political matters or my personal opinions of either candidate. Rather I want to talk about what the ability to vote means to me.

For me the ability to vote is a privilege and should not be taken lightly; but on a sentimental note it means I am growing up. It is an almost bitter-sweet. As a child my biggest fantasy was to fly away to Never-Land so I would not grow up. Now that I am in my 20's that dream has probably sailed away and is not coming back, but you never know...it could happen ;-) However, I am not begrudging my future adult life. I do kind of miss the simplicity of Childhood, but the wonders of things that can happen as an adult is cool. If I was still a child I would not have been able to spend my summer in Tanzania.

So before you go off an a political rampage about either party, maybe take a second to think about what the privilege of voting means to you and how you felt the first time you thought to yourself "I get to vote" May the Lord's Grace and Peace be with you.

"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways." ~ 1 Corinthians 13:11~

Hilltop got nothin on this!

About two days ago I received a Facebook message from Abigail Gee asking if I would be willing to prepare and deliver a short devotional thought for some of the young ladies of Kisongo, I took the task with gladness and excitement. Lindsy suggested that I use the topic of "Climbing the Hill of Christianity" and I never thought it would be such an appropriate topic. We had our devo at the top of one of the many hills in Kisongo, and let me just say that the Girl's cabin at Indian Creek Youth Camp named "Hilltop" (also very appropriately named) has NOTHING on this hill. Wow it was a hike up there, but worth the view once we were there. When we got up there and all caught our breathe, we sat around and sang some songs, and had the devotional thought then we played some games. It was nice to get to spend some time with the young girls from here. they are all very sweet young ladies. So I thought since I had the lesson all written out I would post it here.

Climbing the Hill of Christianity

Have you ever thought about what it takes to climb a hill? A seemingly simple task really, I would guess none of us have ever really thought about what is involved in climbing a hill. However if we take a closer look at the process we would see that it is not so simple a task as we once thought. The same can be said of our Christianity; some would say that it is as simple as believing that Jesus is the Son of God, but if we are to take a closer look we see that there is much more involved. So let us take a look at a few things it takes to climb the hill of Christianity.

1. Endurance
   Endurance can be described as the slow build up of strength. The harder the obstacle the more endurance is needed. Why do we need endurance? - Because if we do not build up the strength to climb the hill we will not reach the top. For a Christian the top of our hill is Heaven. So if endurance is so important, then how do we gain it? ~ Romans 5:3 - More than that , we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance.~  Endurance means going through our struggles, hardships and temptations, and continuing to climbing to reach our goal.
2. Watchfulness
   Have you ever thought about climbing a hill with your eyes closed? I certainly hope not, that would be quite dangerous! If your eyes are closed how can you look out for holes, plants and other things that might stop you from reaching the top. The Bible teaches that as Christians there are things we have to watch out for. ~ 1 Peter 5:8 - Be Sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.~ We have to watch out for the temptations of the devil, we never know when he will strike at us. ~ Matthew 7:15 - Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves~  We have to watch out for those who would lead us astray. ~Galatians 6:1 - Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should  restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted~  As Christians we are not climbing this hill alone, we are surrounded by our brothers and sisters in Christ, and because we are all humans we will all fall at some point. When we see a brother in trouble we are supposed to try and help them, but we have to be careful to not fall into the same trap they have fallen into. So don't climb the hill with your eyes closed, because you will fall.
3. BeginningThe most important step in climbing any hill is the first one. If you never start, you will never finish. Everything we have talked about so far is only possible is we begin climbing. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:57 - But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through out Lord Jesus Christ~  Victory is reaching whatever goal we have set out for, reaching the top of the Hill. Our victory comes through Jesus Christ ~ Galatians 3:26-27 - for in Christ Jesus you are sons of God through faith, for as many of you were baptized into Christ has put on Christ. ~ By putting on Christ in Baptism we begin our Climb up the Hill.

SO hopefully we all have a better understanding on what it takes to climb the hill of Christianity.

~May the Lord Bless and Keep you~

a post....what, after all this time???

I will admit that it has been entirely too long since my last post, and as consequence to that this one my seem like an endless ramble!

I have been going out on Thursdays and Fridays for the past few weeks doing follow-up Bible studies in one of the areas that Hoover worked in while they were here. So far 1 Baptism. Not too bad when you think of the value of a soul, and compare the number 1 to the number 0! So I am resolved to not be discouraged by this number and will continue to study with these people until they throw rocks and chase me away (or September when I leave, which ever happens to come first).

I got sick at the beginning of this week. Some sort of stomach bug (will not go into details here), but all has passed and I feel right as rain. So, Omna Shida! (no problem)

We have had on and off power for three days. When it is off we are using a generator (also an on and off relationship) to make sure the food in the fridge does not spoil. It has been interesting doing things with a mind set of "will we or won't we have power" and planning the day accordingly. I think we have figured out a system that seems to be working, hopefully we will not need to rely on it for too much longer.

I am slowly learning Swahili. I mean REALLY SLOWLY (pole pole). i am not sure if people are aware of this, but there are actually different ways to use your tongue when speaking a different language, and if you are not accustomed to them the words come out very wrong. At least for me, it might not be that way for the general population. However, I am trying and that has to count for something.

I think that might be all the rambling for today! i hope to make a real habit out of posting, and maybe then they will be some actual thoughts and who knows what else. So until next time. May the Lord Bless you and Keep you! <3

One month.

Howdy people of earth! It has been one month since I embarked on this amazing journey! It has truly been an amazing experience thus far. So far I have watched Godly men and women lead Bible studies, both American and Tanzanian. I have witnessed many people put on Christ in Baptism, including a lady that I studied with. The Lord's hand is in Tanzania for sure! Although Bible studies are still a little bit scary, I think I am doing ok so far! 

Everyday I am learning something new. A new skill, and new way of thinking and a new view of the world. It is almost overwhelming, I am not even sure what to say about it. I am missing home, but I am still having a great time! The land scape is amazing and the people are always wanting to talk to you. The driving around is a little scary at times, and shopping is a trip. However all the experiences are lending themselves to some serious Character building. I hope to be able to write more detailed accounts of some of my experiences, but I never know where to begin!


~I hope this message finds you having a good and blessed day!~

The Birthday of a Lifetime!

I sincerely believe that this is one birthday I will never forget! For one thing I am officially not a teenager anymore! Pretty excited about that. Not to mention the fact that I spent this one in AFRICA!!!! Pretty cool! Let's begin of a rundown of the day:

Woke up at 7:30 to my campaign phone ringing. My Mom was calling me (knowing full and well that she would be waking me up) to be the first one to wish me a happy birthday! :-) It was sweet and good to get to talk to her and Dad! At about 8:45/9 o'clock we all left (except Von who was still recovering from his Kenya adventure) Stephanie had made a pedicure appointment fro herself and I and a Manicure appointment for Granny (her mother). I know what you are thinking "you are supposed to be on a mission trip, what are you doing getting a pedicure" Well Campaign was last week and Next week is follow-up studies, so I am still doing work! Well after the appointments, which took a while because the lady is the only one who does them and is by herself at her shop, we went to lunch. We then proceeded to go to 3 different grocery stores to get everything on Stephanie's list. Then it was off to the shop rite plaza thing because Granny needed to go to the fabric store and I was wanting to go to the bookstore. After that little trip we went home to eat some supper. 

As Von and I washed the dishes the Gee's came in, they said "we are here for the party" WHAT PARTY!!?!?!? Stephanie is so sweet she planned a surprise party for me with all the missionary families! I was defiantly surprised! 

And that is how I spent my African Birthday! Not a lot of excitement, but still a very good day! I am so blessed to be here with such great people. I am looking forward to the months to come and the adventures around the corner! And to add to my blessings all the love that was send from home via Facebook was just overwhelming! God has truly blessed me with such wonderful people in my life and I am forever thankful!

Have you counted your Blessings lately? I can guarantee  that when you do your heart will soar with joy! So if you want to feel overwhelming joy, count your blessings and Thank God for everyone of them!

~I hope this Message has found you having a wonderful and blessed day!~

what do you think?

     It has been a long week! We have been working with the group from Hoover, AL during their campaign work in Arusha and Kwa Mrombo. The Hoover group came with a full work force of about 20 people, half to go to Kwa Mrombo and half to go to Arusha. I was with the Arusha group witch was broken up between two areas. The group I was with was working in the White Rose area. This area is mostly a business area so it was a little harder to get someone to agree to a Bible study, however once someone said they were interested we would take full advantage of the opportunity. Over the course of my studies I found myself faced with questions I was not expecting. They were not really hard or unusual questions, however I was not mentally prepared for off topic questions.

       What do you do when you know the scripture, but can not remember "Book, Chapter, Verse"? Lucky for us there are men out there who have thought of that. I strongly recommend having a reference guide as apart of your Bible study arsenal. I use Paul Sain's "Ready Reference for Growing Christians" and it has helped me. Books like these are a great aid and tool for bible studies and Bible class preparation. 

     I also realized this week that if you know what the Bible says then you are more than qualified to teach some one else. I have never felt like I was qualified to teach someone else. I always felt I need to know more before i could tell someone else. I found out that I more prepared than I thought. I know this sounds braggy and I am not trying to be, I guess my point is that if you feel like I did, then you are probably more prepared than you think. Give it a try and you might be surprised!

~I hope this message has found you having a wonderful and Blessed day.~

one week

     It has been 1 week since I got here and I have already seen the Lord's Kingdom at work. When I arrived in TZ the group from Elk City, OK was in full swing at Maji Chi. There were also works going on in Kwa Marombo. The Baptism total thus far is about 40. Isn't that amazing!!! 

     I spent a couple of nights in the area where the Tanzania Christian Clinic is. There is a Lady staying there she has Bible studies up the mountain  with Masai women. She also Teaches the children in the afternoon. She had me teach on of her children's class while I was there. On the second day I was staying with her we went with one of the local preachers, Michael, to on of his studies with two women. He did the teaching we were there for moral support. I did not understand a word he said, since the study was in the Masai language (which is a different language from Swahili). However, Both ladies were baptized. That just goes to show you that the Truth is the Truth in any language, you just have to find someone willing to hear it! 

     The group from Hoover, Al has made it safe and sound and they will begin their work on Tuesday. I am excited to work with them this upcoming week and all the campaigners to come! I am learning a lot here and hope to learn even more! The Lord is so good and His work is everywhere. There are always opportunities to learn and grow, we just have to open our eyes and our hearts to them.

    I hope this message has found you in the middle of a great day, and in the word's of the Apostle Paul; "May the Lord Bless you and Keep you".

T.I.A.

I am here!!! Well It has been about 4 days since I official arrived in Tanzania. It has been GREAT so far! I got here on Friday afternoon. Saturday I went with the group from Oklahoma and the Boxes to Maji Chi and tagged along with their Bible studies, I went with Hannah and Rachael Box mostly. We worship At Maji Chi on Sunday and had a movie night and watched "The Ghost and the Darkness". 

Things are different here. Of course I knew they would be. The missionaries have a saying. T.I.A. "This is Africa" It is a simple reminder that It's not home and we have to deal. Haha, that makes it sound like this is a terrible place! It's not! i am enjoying myself I really am. However, you have to be thinking all the time, you can't always just go with the flow. You have to expect the unexpected. We visited with a lady who claims to be pregnant and has been for 4 years. She has gone to the doctor, but they can't see the baby because the Devil is hiding it. She has gone to witch doctors and is tired of it, she wants to know God. Naomi (one of the Local's wives, and a translator) told her that if she knew God she would know the Truth and the Truth would set her free! But can you imagine having that conversation in the States?? but T.I.A :-)

tomorrow I am going to the Medical clinic with Stephanie, I am excited because she said there is a lady there who studies with the Masai sometimes and I might get to go with her. 

 Well I hope this message has found you in good spirits! I ask that you add the mission efforts in Tanzania to your prayers, it is a great work.

~May the Lord Bless you and keep you~

as the day draws near

Hey everyone! I was lying awake thinking about my trip. It is getting so close, I can't believe it. Anyways, for some reason I was thinking about who I would miss...then I thought about who would really miss me. I know it sounds kind of selfish and a little bit silly, but really isn't that human nature to wonder if we would be missed. (or maybe it's just me)

Dictionary.com defines the word "miss" in about 17 different ways. The fifth definition of this word is "to notice the absence or loss of"

I have also heard it said (or posted on facebook) that missing someone is not measured by the continuous minutes you spend thinking about them, but the small moments that  make you think of them. I think that might be my favorite definition of "miss". It brings a deeper emotion to the phrase " I missed you". Isn't that how you want to be missed? Don't you want people to love you so much that random objects and events make them think of you. Don't you want your friends to go to the mall and see something and think "______ would have loved this!" and then laugh at an inside joke and be happy that they know you rather than them be miserable just because you are not there every second of the day.

I experienced this first hand the other day. Before I get into the example a little background information; I have a small sock monkey hanging in my rear view mirror of my car. No particular reason, i just saw it in Cracker Barrel and thought it was cute. Well One of my friends has been at the beach for the past week and sent me a picture the other day. It was a picture of a beach dressed sock monkey and the message said "Thinking about you" That's all she wrote, nothing but a monkey and a thinking of you! But honestly it was one of the best text's I had gotten in a while! It made me smile from ear to ear.

So my next question is who have you missed lately? Has there been a certain event or movie or sock monkey in a beach gift shop that has made you think of someone specific??

Or better yet...Have you missed Jesus recently? Or How about God? How often do you see something in life and think about the power of God? When you see a rainbow do you see a bunch of colors, or think about how God kept his promise to Noah? Do you listen to a thunderstorm and think "i wish this rain would stop" or do you think about when Jesus calmed a raging Sea of Galilee? When you sit in worship and partake of the Lord's supper are you thinking about lunch, the person sitting next to you or texting? Or are you thinking about How Jesus had His body Broken, spilled His Blood and DIED so that we could have a chance to be in Heaven with our Father and Creator!

I will be the first to admit that I am not perfect at this, but I hope and pray to get better, and I hope that is your same prayer. We have an amazing God and an amazing Savior. Let's take a few moments and "miss" them, and strive to go to Heaven so we can see them!

~God Bless~

safari ya maisha

Ok, is everyone ready???? Here it is....the official blog post.....I'M LEAVING THE COUNTRY!!!!

So here is the deal, most people who know me personally already are aware of the fact that I am going to Tanzania in May. I am very excited about this, I am leaving out of Atlanta on May 29th and I will be staying until September 5th (I have to back for October 20th ;-) ).

This trip makes me excited for a couple reasons; 1.) I GET TO GO!!! I have always wanted to travel and see God's Beautiful world, and this is a chance to do so. 2.) I will have the opportunity to gain a new prospective of God's Church and what it is meant to do.

 I am Very excited and nervous about this trip. However, I know I am not in this alone. I know that God will be there with me and so will all of you!!! Technology has created an amazing opportunity for us to share things. With this blog I will be able to share my adventures and lessons learned during this experience! So keep an eye open for Africa Blog posts. :-) Hope every one has a Wonderful and Blessed Summer! <3

One More...

*This Video is from Cartoon Networks "Baby Looney Tunes" Ep. title "Creature from the Chocolate Chip" Readers only need to watch up to 2:20 to get the point of post. Although I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to watch the whole thing ;-) *









      Haven't you found your self in that situation before? You convince yourself that "one more" won't hurt, than all of the sudden you have eaten all of the cookies! Or maybe this sounds familiar "just ten more minutes, then I'll get off Pintrest." I believe this is human nature, I will admit to having this problem. However who says it has to be a problem? With the right focus, this could be a useful tool in our every day lives. I realized recently that i have been doing this for years and never knew it. I am a slow reader, always have been, so to get through long books i tell myself "one more page" and before I know it I am at the end of the book. I caught myself doing this same thing on the treadmill the other ;day. I had set to walk 30 minutes, and at about 15 minutes i wanted to quit; but I told myself saying "one more minute" until the 30 minutes were up. I will admit I was surprised by the power of self motivation.
     The applications to this technique are endless! Think about it; do you struggle with Daily Bible reading, simply tell your self "one more chapter" until you reach your daily goal and not only have you done your reading, you feel a great sense of accomplishment and want to do it again. Perhaps you have already been using this motivation technique and were not aware of it, but whether you have been doing for years or never tried this here is my challenge to you: TRY IT!! simply pick an aspect of your life that you struggle to get through and tell yourself "one more" whether it is reading a chapter or making it another minute/hour through work or school, I think you will be surprised by the power of your own motivation! Hope everyone has a Blessed day! #faithhopelove

2012

     The New Year has come. It is during this time when people think about themselves, and what they want to change/improve on. These "resolutions" take many forms and are different for many people. For instance I have had a New Year's Resolution to stop biting my finger nails for about 5 years now...Although I will admit to never trying harder than thinking "I probably should stop biting my nails" Sad as it is to say, but that's about the extent of most  people's resolutions. Sure they really mean it at first, and may even get through the month of January, even February. However the majority of people will "fall off the bandwagon" rather quickly.

     According to Webster's dictionary Resolution means "firmness of purpose". In order for us to make a true resolution we must FIRMLY be committed to it, the occasional "I think I should..." is not going to cut it. So here is my New Year's Challenge for myself and my readers (all 8 of you) Let's make a resolution to be committed to our resolutions! Perhaps the best way to do that is to involve God in Our resolutions, pray to keep them. I will. Let's make 2012 count and leave our broken resolutions behind.

God Bless 2012!