Amazing!!

All I have to say is WOW!! Our God is truly AMAZING!!!

The Sheep and the Goats

Today in chapel the speaker talked about the story of The Sheep and the Goats found in Matthew 25. Now this story has always been one of my favorites! I remember in high school our youth group did a human video (remember those days!) to the Keith Green song about the Sheep and the Goats. I think I actually had to be a goat in this particular human video. I love the message in this story it is so clear what our assignment is here on earth...to serve others and reach out to those in need. Jesus said, "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

As I was listening to this message I was reminded today that I need to be reaching out to others more. When I was the Outreach Pastor in Denver it was really easy to reach out to others b/c that was what I did day in and day out! It seems like over the years I haven't been as motivated to reach out. Why is that? I love Jesus with all of my heart, but I have lost the sense of urgency I once had to reach those who are in need. My prayer is that the fire I once had will be reignited! I want to serve those in need in any way that I can. I may not have a big group of people to help me do an outreach, but I can surely go out on the streets and feed the homeless. I'm getting excited just thinking about the ways that I can be a Sheep and make the King proud!!

I copied the story of The Sheep and the Goats below just in case you wanted to read it today.

He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.


"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'


"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'


"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'


"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Stinky Smell - HELP!

I need a place to vent and let out my frustration, so today I am going to use my blog as my outlet. As most of you know last weekend Rick and I moved into an apartment on the Northwest University campus (where I am employed). When we first moved in I noticed a faint garlic and spice smell, but I just figured it was left over from the tenants who lived there before us. After we were completely moved in I sprayed the entire apartment down with Febreeze and lit candles in every room. At the time it seemed like it had gotten better, but then dinner time came around and the smell became so repulsive that I actually had to get out of the apartment for a few hours!

After doing some under cover investigation at the school I found out that a Korean couple lives in the apartment below us. Now the only reason this solves the mysterious smell is b/c there is a certain spice they are cooking with every evening that is coming into our apartment through the vents. I really don't know what to do about this situation! I want to walk down to the apartment below us and kindly ask this couple if they could refrain from cooking with this certain spice b/c it makes me sick, but #1 I don't want to offend them or their culture and #2 I just don't have the guts to do it! Hopefully with the temperatures warming up a bit here in the Pacific Northwest I can keep the windows open all evening. Do any of you have advice on ways I could clear up a really BAD smell?!! Bethany...I know you are the queen of cleaning supplies - have you used any good are fresheners that eliminate smell & not just cover them up? I'm desperate!!

The Cost of Beauty!

This morning while I was getting ready for work I realized that I desperately need to get my hair cut and highlighted again. The problem is that the people I trust the most with my hair are the most expensive!! It's really hard for me to pay $100 (sometimes more) to get my hair cut and colored. Is that too much? What do those of you reading this blog pay for your haircuts and highlights? I went to this beauty school to get my haircut and colored a while back and the girl did a good job, but the problem was It took her over 4 hours to do my hair. I promised myself I would never go back to a beauty school again to get my hair done!!

I am going to do some research online today and see if there are any first time customer coupons for any of these salons. Sometimes you can get some good deals when you try new places! Hopefully I can find a good salon at a good price! =)

Moved In!

We are finally all moved in!! I didn't think that was ever going to happen! Saturday was a very LONG day!! We did have very nice weather for our move, so that was good. I have spring fever right now BIG TIME!! I am ready for 60 and 70 degree weather and sun! The good news is...that Spring is just around the corner.

I am actually too tired right now to write much more, but I just wanted to let everyone know that our move went well and we are now living in an on campus apartment for a very short time! :)

Moving Saturday!

I am absolutely exhausted!! This past weekend and yesterday I have been packing and sorting through all of our stuff for our move on Saturday. I know moving is hard, but I thought it would be easier this time b/c a lot of our stuff is still packed and in storage. It's amazing how much we have accumulated over the past year and a half that we have lived in this apartment!

The good news is that we will be completely moved by Saturday and then Rick is hitting the job market hard! For those of you who don't know, this move we are making is a temporary move. We are hoping & praying that Rick finds a new job somewhere close to family and that we will be moving again by early summer.

I am excited to see what God has next for us. This is going to be a great year of change! :)

Summer Vacation???

Rick and I started planning our summer vacation and we are down to three choices. Over the past two years our summer vacations have been to Chicago to visit family and friends, but this year we wanted to plan a romantic get-away for just the two of us. So here are the three places we have narrowed it down to:

1. Cancun, Mexico (Riviera Maya) - this is where we went on our honeymoon!

2. Jamaica

3. Caribbean Carnival Cruise

So now it's time for your votes...which place would you rather go on vacation? Maybe you have been to one of these places and recommend one over the other. I know they are all wonderful places, but I'm curious where my friends and family would choose.

We're Moving!!

I wish I could say that we were moving out of the state and close to all of our friends and family, but unfortunately, we are only moving 10 minutes from our apartment. To make a really long story short, our apartment complex has been bought by a company who is going to turn our apartments into condominiums. So in short we are being forced to move. The nice thing is that we get $500 towards our moving costs b/c of the short notice.

Over the last week I have been frantically searching for an affordable apartment close to work. The only thing I came up with in our price range was ghetto apartments that were built in 1972 with all of the orange and green kitchen appliances to go with it! YUK!! After praying with some close friends about our search, I received an email from our housing office at work (Northwest University) telling me that there was a married housing apartment that just opened up and it would be ready by February 1st (today!). Now these apartments are not the most glamorous on the market, but they are nice and the price is absolutely INCREDIBLE!!! :) Not too mention I could walk to my office from my home! What an answer to prayer!

I'm kind tired of living in apartments and I am really ready to be in my own house, but I know shortly Rick and I will be moving (out of state, hopefully) and into a new home! It's funny how God takes us through seasons of life, but with each turn we grow, learn, and trust that he is still the FAITHFUL God he has always been!