Top 10 Things I Am Thankful For

Since it's Thanksgiving tomorrow, now seems like a great time to think about what I'm most thanksful for this year. Here's the top 10, but not necessarily in this order...

10. For the joy that has come through healing a broken heart.
9. For Matt.
8. For all of my friends.
7. For all the laughter and fun times I've shared with my friends.
6. For good health, a safe place to live, food to eat, and clothes to wear.
5. For my YMCA small group who I've learned so much from this year.
4. For my job.
3. For the opportunity to experience South Africa. (I could write a top 10 ten list just about SA)
2. For my family.
1. For who God is and what he's done in and through my life.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Baby Mya!!

Matt's niece, Mya, was born on Tuesday, November 25th at 8:59pm. She weighs 8.15 oz and is 20.5 inches. She has A TON of black hair and dark brown eyes. She's adorable! Matt is very excited to be an uncle and just entering into "aunthood" myself this year, I would agree that having a new little one in the family is a lot of fun!

Hope Exists

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

- Jeremiah 29:11

It's tough out there lately and it sounds like all the predictions say it could get a bit worse before it gets better. I have to admit that I thought I was recession proof for awhile there. But it's official, I'm just like everyone else. My biggest account placed their 2009 advertising last week and they are down almost 50%. Without going into the nitty gritty details, I lost thousands and thousands of dollars in commission on just that one piece of business. Although the shock of it was brutal, the panic I got from thinking about the potential cancellations from the rest of my clients really got me going last week. The more I thought about it though, the more I calmed down. My faith came through reminding me that God will never leave me or forsake me and that He's God in both good times and in bad. There are lessons in financial responsibility to be learned here and I plan to take full advantage of being forced into learning to get by on less and being much less frivolous. We're all in the same boat here and together we'll get through this stormy weather and move on to calmer waters. My hope is that we'll all help each other through whatever comes our way. I love the verse from Jeremiah that says "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." It's a reminder that God isn't trying to punish us or make us suffer. He has great plans for us and wants nothing but the best. Times may be tough, but God will be with us through it all and those who trust in Him will find comfort in knowing that we're not alone. Hope does exist.

Pictures from the weekend

Kyra's sister, Heidi, was in town from Georgia this weekend. A bunch of us girls went to Bonefish for appetizers and martinis to celebrate her visit to Des Moines. Afterwards, we went to Cabaret West Glen and Tonic. Matt met up with us for a few drinks. I was very impressed that he was able to hold his own at a table full of girl talk:)

The Mousetrap

This was a forward I got this afternoon. I thought it was so cool, I wanted to post it for everyone...


A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. What food might this contain?' the mouse wondered - - -he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning : There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!' The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, 'Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.'


The mouse turned to the pig and told him, 'There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!' The pig sympathized, but said, 'I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.'


The mouse turned to the cow and said, 'There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!' The cow said, 'Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose.' So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap . . . alone.


That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember ----when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

REMEMBER. . . EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY; OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.

Oh he's just so cute!

Here are some photos of JR and Matt from last Friday night. JR is almost 9 months old in these photos. He's getting so big! He kind of scoots/crawls and he was waving the other night. It was adorable! He babbles, but I haven't heard any clear words yet. According to Jolynn, he has quite a loud voice and he likes to hear himself be noisy. Having little JR in our family is such a blessing... I just love him like crazy!

Who Needs Pockets?

This is TOO cute!!!

Here's what's new...

It's been awhile since I posted anything, so here's what's going on these days...

• I hung out with my family, Matt, and JR last Friday night. Wow, he's getting big! (JR, not Matt.) Guess that's what happens, right? He's almost 9 months now!


• Saturday night I celebrated Amanda's and Jill's birthdays at Ohana's. Yum! It's our tradition to do birthdays at Ohana's and it might be my most favorite tradition of all time. At one exciting point in the evening the chef let me stand behind the grill and try to crack an egg by tossing it in the air and breaking it on the side of the spatula. I need a bit more practice to master that one:) It's definitely harder than it looks.


• I've been on a roll at work lately, which has been awesome. I've been calling on lots of new business to try to offset the business that's down for 2009. Just trying to keep the dream alive. (It's a full time job, you know.)


• I'm working on finding some service projects that I can jump into. It's not too tough at this time of year because there are so many opportunities to serve around the holidays. I haven't nailed down exactly what I'm going to do yet, but my goal is to do that before next Monday.

I guess that's about all I've got going on for now. I'll keep you posted!

Happy Holidays... It's never too early to say that, right?!

"My Wish"

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Looking Back to Look Forward

It's been a really special night. Brian and Lois Niehoff are back in the States from South Africa visiting for the next couple of months. This weekend they are speaking at all three church services at Point of Grace and tonight we got to have a dinner with them. Everyone from our church who has travelled to South Africa got together for the dinner and it was a lot of fun catching up with everyone on my team, hearing stories of other teams, and spending time with Brian and Lois. It was almost surreal seeing them walk into church tonight because when I left South Africa I left with a sadness in my heart knowing that I might never get to see any of those people again. (I knew that Brian and Lois were coming back to visit, but it was hard to picture them anywhere other than SA.) We saw a lot of photos tonight of our trip, other teams' trips, and the kids at The Pines. It was so much fun to take a trip down memory lane but it was also kind of sad because I miss the kids so much and I also miss my time there.

I've readjusted to my life here, but I will never forget my time in South Africa and my heart has been forever changed. I find myself searching for what God is calling me to do next. Not a day has gone by since I've returned that I haven't thought of the people I left behind in South Africa. And not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about all that God has entrusted me with here and because of that, it is my life's passion and purpose to serve God by serving other people. The feeling that I get from doing God's work is indescribable. It's a feeling of pure joy. It's a fulfillment deep within your soul that gives you a glimpse into understanding God's love and how perfectly complete it is.

How awesome is it that God created us to do His work? God is perfect. His love is perfect. His intentions are perfect. And yet He chooses us. We are not perfect and he chooses us to do His work in serving other people. I never understood before going to South Africa what it was like to fully give yourself over to God for His agenda and His work. I can assure you that I was given so much more than I gave. I pray that I won't miss a single opportunity that God gives me to serve. And I pray that each and every one of you will discover the joy of giving and serving that I'm talking about and that together we will be able to really make a difference in the world in the name of the One who gave us the greatest gift the world has ever known, His Son, Jesus Christ.

For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life. -John 3:16

The "We" Generation. Inspiring.

Song of the Day from Iowa's Very Own

Today's Song of the Day

Leslie and the Lys
How we go Out

This girl is from Ames, Iowa and she's clearly CRAZY! She was featured in Juice this week and is apparently an internet phenomenon. After seeing her videos on YouTube I can see why. You have to see it for youself!

You're all invited!

This weekend at church we'll be showing a photo slideshow of our South Africa trip, showing the video of Troy's baptism, hearing a testimony from Steve Miller (who was on our team), plus the Niehoff's are back in the States from South Africa and they'll be speaking briefly as well. We are in a series right now called Whyi and this week's topic is "Inspire". I'm sure the services will be great! I'm planning to attend all three services and I'd love nothing more than for you to join me for one. The services are at 5pm on Saturday, 9am on Sunday, or 10:30am on Sunday. Email me if you want to come!

Do Your Part

No matter who you're supporting, I hope everyone goes to the polls tomorrow and casts their vote. The whole world will be watching as we American's enjoy the freedom that has been hard earned for us. Not everyone around the world is so lucky to enjoy a democratic government that gives them the right to let their voice be heard. Each candidate has sacrificed much over the past year to run for the presidency and I'm sure they both have a plan that they believe will help the USA be the best it can be. Please remember that we're choosing someone to lead us, not do and fix everything for us. America has been a success through hard work and the dedication of many to uphold the Constitution and the Christian values we were founded on. There is only one man who can save the world, Jesus Christ. Vote tomorrow for the man you feel will best lead our country into the bright future we're all capable of through faith and hard work.

That's my voting speech... glad I was able to get that out:)