Okay- if you haven't gotten Brooke Fraser's CD, Albertine- now is your chance. It is just $5.99 on iTunes right now and is SO worth the buy.

This is one of my most favorite albums of all time and her voice is incredible! I love to support her, so PLEASE - go buy her album. I can't think of a better way for you to spend your 6 bucks!

Got a forwarded email from my mother in law this morning. See how you do on these quetsions...they aren't trick questions- it's a quiz for people who know everything, which I, obviously, don't. (I got #'s 4, 7, 8, 9)

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters 'dw' and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter 'S.'

Click HERE for the answers.

Just finished watching "So you Think You can Dance." LOVED the Bollywood dance number at the end. Yes, that's right...I said, Bollywood. I'm sure you can check it out on You Tube if you missed it.

So, my new favorite thing right now is "The Grocery Game." I was reading the paper about tips on saving on all sorts of things, and I seriously LOVE trying to save money at the grocery...it's a weird little interest of mine. The article was talking about this website- thegrocerygame.com and it intrigued me enough to try it out.

If you are one who doesn't like planning ahead, making a list, sticking to it, looking for deals then this is definitely NOT for you- and that's okay. But, if you're like me and love being a savvy food shopper than this is SO for you. It's a little confusing at first, but I decided to try it with a "mini" trip to the store and here's what I ended up with:

- Herbal Essence Shampoo
- Herbal Essence Conditioner
- Pantene Pro-V Shampoo
- Swiffer Sweeper Refill Pack (32)
- Frozen Broccoli
- Frozen Corn
- Crest Whitening Toothpaste

My total?

$9.21 plus tax! (Look back again at everything I got)

I saved almost $21 off list price from this trip alone. And these are all things I use! (The swiffer refill pack is usually $8.99 by itself) Imagine what my real shopping trip will be like. If you're intersted, check out it out here and read up. I'll be sure to keep you posted on how it goes. It is supposed to take a while (12 weeks) to really get to a place where you're saving the max, but I think it'll be worth it!

Great start to the week. Yesterday was a full but wonderful day of work- got a lot accomplished and worked through! We had some friends over for dinner last night. I made a few different pizzas: my standard barbeque chicken pizza, and then a ham & pineapple and a new one- buffalo chicken. MMM,mmm, it was good! I made little Hannah her own personal cheese pizza and we had a wonderful time talking and hanging with them until 11:00 o'clock! Totally could have gone longer, but we all knew it was bed time!

Not too much going on this week. One of my friends is RIGHT on the verge of labor...so we're anxiously awaiting that! She's due in about a week but TOTALLY ready to pop, so we're praying little Noah hurries himself on up. She's certainly ready.

I have a dress fitting after work for my bridesmaid's dress for Reese's wedding. Let's hope it fits! I love the dresses- they are so pretty! And we may have another family over tonight, but other than that, it's a pretty easy breezy day.

Have an awesome Tuesday! Be blessed!

This was an AMAZING weekend! I guess it helped to have an extra day, but it was such a perfect combo of rest and getting things done- I just loved it!

Friday, we had a lazy morning, and then begun work on our front flower beds...weeding, planting and MULCHING! We've been in this house since November of '06 and hadn't re-mulched yet. Needless to say, our poor flower beds were desperately needing it. It was pretty hard work...more so than I realized but a great workout. Jordan also did a TON of work in the garage...we put the TV up in the corner, got rid of some junk, he cleaned and straightened and organized. I LOVE IT when my husband gets his mind set to cleaning/fixing something because he is so thorough and does a great job. We spent the evening with my parents, Ferris & Robby and Dylan celebrating Dad's birthday, which is today! We had a wonderful time and it was SUCH a treat to all be together.

Saturday we slept in a bit, and I headed off to pick up my basket of fresh goodies from the Farmer's Market. I should have taken a picture...the box looked SO pretty. I got squash, cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes, Kale, Lettuce, Eggplant, Onions...mmm,mmm! So good! I met Jordan at Utopia and we had some breakfast, excellent coffee and read for a while before heading home to take care of some stuff there. We packed up and went to the pool, and hung out for several hours with some of the youth group and Ferris & Robby. It was SO fun and I accomplished my goal of getting rid of my tank-top tan lines from playing frisbee and camp. Now I can just try to get a little more sun before the wedding. We took off from there (I had 3 high school girls in tow) and packed up to go to the Drive in movies in Lewisburg with the youth group and some families. It was a total blast and so many asked to come again.

Sunday came WAY too early, b/c I was leading worship at our Cool Spring's campus and had to get up really early, but it was a wonderful morning, and God extended my energy. Jordan and I spent a couple hours at home, watching the finals of Wimbeldon and resting, before he went back to work in the garage, and then helped me finish the mulching. Here is our finished product:





I'm so excited for my flowers to grow- making sure they get lots of water, but everything turned out SO nicely. We went up to Carrabba's for dinner and had a wonderful evening together.

Praise the Lord for an amazing weekend full of wonderful people and fellowship!

Jordan got back yesterday from taking a group of the high school guys camping in the Cumberland Gap at Stone Door. It's a GORGEOUS place in East TN. I LOVE living somewhere where this kind of hiking,climbing and scenery is available just an hour or 2 away. (Of course, Colorado beats it hands down- but I don't live there, do I?!) He took some pictures on his phone (I'm so proud of him) that turned out very well so I'll get those from him soon and post a couple.

I loved hearing all his stories of the guys, funny things they said, did, etc. One of the boys (who I consider one of my many "sons", but I won't name names to protect the innocent) was apparantly getting himself all worked up and freaked out about the dark. Jordan said that there were several raccoons barking at night, and he got all freaked out about it. Knowing this boy and knowing EXACTLY the facial expressions and tone of voice he had just sent me rolling! Hilarious! They survived it well and from Jordan's account are probably ready for the next level- the true back country camping. So fun...only thing I wish, is that I could have gone! :-) Next time!

I love finding new worship music. 10 years ago, there wasn't much out there, but then a revolution happened in modern worship and Passion & Hillsong began pumping out new stuff every other week it seemed, Chris Tomlin followed suit, and now we have a wonderful environment around the world of fresh new music constantly being poured out. Of course, granted, there are those who have taken their opportunity to capitalize on the chance to make some money, so there are plenty of "worship" albums out there that are anything but.

But I've been finding some great stuff. I am of course a huge fan of the stuff Hillsong produces and they've got a new one by United and Hillsong coming out in the very near future. VERY exciting! Chris Tomlin's got a new one coming out later this month, I think.

Here's what I'm listening to right now:



Gateway Worship, "Wake up the World" REALLY, REALLY enjoying this! Starting with the track "God of My Days," the next 4 tracks are incredible. Going to see about adding some of these to our worship rotation at church.



Jamie Jamgochian, "Above the Noise." Not all the songs on this are written by her, but I love her style. It's refreshing and pure, and I am looking forward to listening more and more to this record.



Jeremy Riddle, "Full Attention." I LOVE how he incorporates the choir on this record. It's a little "old school" style but it is BEAUTIFUL and POWERFUL! I've been enjoying this VERY much.

Anything you all are listening to that you're loving?

Great weekend that went by too fast:

Friday night, Jordan took off to the Men's Overnight retreat our church, New Song, was having. He was leading worship and from what I hear- did a wonderful job! I took off up "north" to Cool Springs to run some errands and then ended up at my mom's house with Mom, Karen Hillis (in town for Ferris's shower) Ferris and her future mother-in-law, Sungcha Owen. We had a good time chatting, making dinner until poor Sungcha got eaten alive by mosquitoes on the back deck. (No joke- I cannot describe how many bites she had on her legs from a 15 minute time block) We ended the evening watching one of the most incredible dances I have EVER SEEN! I am not joking...it makes me cry almost every time I watch it. Check it out here. (Scroll past the interview part if you don't have time- the dance is only about 2 minutes)

Saturday, I caught breakfast with my friend Jessica Cupp- who is in town all the way from Hawaii. We had an incredible time catching up on so many things. I haven't seen her in a year and a half! Unbelieveable they've been over there for that long! It was so much fun!! I took off from there to change real quick and head to Franklin for another bridal shower for Ferris. I still don't have pictures because I've been too busy at the shower to take pictures, so I'll try to collect them from others. It was awesome! She was SO blessed by so many encouraging and wonderful words and generous gifts from friends and family. I ended the evening hanging out with our U-turn youth girls at one of the other leader's houses- playing Loaded Questions and laughing at the crazy antics of these girls. They are hilarious and I love them so much!

Sunday after our normal service in Spring Hill, Jordan and I headed out to New Song Murfreesboro to lead worship and participate in the service out there. This is the congregation that Robby & Ferris are pastoring, and it was SO exciting to be out there! After service we got to see the apartment they are living in, which is great and then spent the evening with them at our house.

So there was the weekend and we're gearing up for a fabulous week!

I don't need another reason to love the Indianapolis Colts, but maybe you do. In an interesting poll in an Indiana newspaper, they polled to find out how non-political figures stacked up next to Barack Obama and John McCain. How did Tony Dungy, coach of the Indianapolis Colts do? Out of a possible 10- being the highest level of respect, he got a 7.3. Percentage of people polled who said they had the highest level of respect for him, 33%. Maybe those numbers don't seem much, but consider this: out of a list of about 15 people, the only one to rank higher on the list than Tony Dungy?

Mother Theresa.

So- GO COLTS AND GO TONY DUNGY!! (and read his book if you haven't already- so good!)

So here's a rundown of the last few days. It'll probably be long, so click on my music tab to the right and get a little music while you read!

Saturday:
-hooked up with Steven & John Herrenbruck for breakfast on Saturday in Newburgh. We had a great time with them before hitting the road to get back to Nashville. As soon as we arrive, I took off with Ferris and Mom to Ferris's shower, which was wonderful, and Jordan took off to play some Ultimate Frisbee with my brother and some friends. (More from the shower later) As soon as that was done, we met up with all the youth and parents at Pinkerton Park for a family picnic/game night. We grilled hot dogs, played water balloon toss (Jordan and I came in 3rd out of about 60 groups!) hung out, talked, played frisbee, angle ball, etc. It was beautiful weather and it was so fun to have everyone out there together. We crashed that night, and I think both slept hard!

Sunday:
-I woke up early to get ready- had to get to the church by 7:30 because I was leading worship. Went through rehearsal and had a great service. We are consistently at about 215 people these days, which is so exciting! Pastor Andrew Lamb from Woodbine was speaking, and we had a great time of ministry at the end. There is a lot to process still from the service, but God is doing some pretty amazing stuff. Afterwards, we hurried home, I made grilled chicken salads, we stuffed them in, and ran off to Ultimate Frisbee, which is an outreach we do every other Sunday for the youth group. We had a lot of fun playing frisbee for a couple of hours. We both got home around 4:45 from that, and got to rest for about an hour before I made dinner and we took off to go bowling for a friend's birthday. We had a great time bowling with friends that night- I actually broke 100, can't remember the last time I did that.

Monday:
-slept in until about 7, and then got up to read and get to work....had a lot to do! The day flew by working and catching up on things, and as soon as it was over, I prepared my grocery list and took off for some errands. Picked up our dry cleaning which I had dropped off like 4 weeks ago- OOPS! In the midst of grocery shopping we decided to go up to Mom & Dad's for the evening, so I made it home, whipped up some spinach artichoke dip, packed up the steaks I was marinating and we took off. We had a great evening, got to see Reese and Chris and got some good talks in with Mom & Dad. We left (too late) but oh well! It was worth it.

Today:
-work up early, and stepped outside to weed my front bed. we HAVE GOT to get some mulch down there...these stupid weeds are growing way TOO fast, so I took care of that, and got some great reading in before starting work. Finishing up the work day now, which again has flown by. We have our Spring Hill youth leadership team (about 9 total) coming over for dinner tonight, and I still need to clean the house. So, in the next 2 hours I will attempt to dust/vaccuum/clean the kitchen and cook chicken marsala/pasta/green beans for 9 people. I'll letcha know how it all turns out!

Don't know why, but I feel like giving you a list of my top 10 favorite movies. These are pretty much movies I could watch ALMOST anytime and certainly movies I have loved every single time I've watched them (which has been plenty more than once with the exception of one) So, here you go- my top 10 favorite movies:

10. Pink Panther
-the only comedy on my list. I just laugh & laugh everytime we watch this.

9. Walk to Remember
-great if you want a good cry...incredible story, incredible movie!

8. Sleepless in Seattle
-always been one of my favorites growing up, so I think it's just stuck with me

7. Lord of the Rings Trilogy
-I know, I know, it's more than 1 but I really can't separate them...I love them all!

6. Bourne Trilogy
-okay, again, more than 1 movie but they're all INCREDIBLE!

5. Iron Man
-yes, seriously. It's that good!

4. Last of the Mohicans
-GORGEOUS music, unbelievable scenery, great dialogue and of course a beautiful story

3. Remember the Titans
-I love football and I love this movie!!

2. Gladiator
-what an inspirational movie with a fabulous soundtrack

1. Pride and Prejudice
-I don't know if I will ever get tired of watching this. One of my favorite all-time authors and one of my favorite of Austen's works.





What are some of your favorites?

So I was totally in the mood for an old song. Click here to take a listen, and enjoy!



or

So bear with me as I kind of piece together a couple of things I read this morning in scripture...it's some pretty cool stuff!

First off, I read Psalm 138:8 "The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the work of Your hands." That has always been a favorite of mine. There is so much assurance in there!

And then I was reading in Acts 13, and came across verse 41, "Behold, you despisers, marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, a work which you will by no means believe, though one were to declare it to you." Sounds kind of harsh, doesn't it? I thought...I like the one in Psalms better, but here's what I started thinking about.

The verse in Psalms is so encouraging- to all of us! We are all experiencing one or several things in our lives that we just have to trust God for. Whether it's moving, changing jobs or financial situations, (big one for us right now) dealing with a difficult relationship, the loss of a loved one, infertility stuff (another big one for us) or trusting Him for a healthy pregnancy (for our little niece Hopie) there's always something. God says in that verse that not only will He bring something to completion, but He'll PERFECT it. He doesn't do things half-heartedly or leave things unfinished like I do sometimes. He finishes it, and He does it perfectly.

Now in Acts, this is Paul speaking to the Jews in Antioch, and cautioning them against turning their backs on Jesus as the Messiah. That's why the language is pretty harsh. Paul didn't beat around the bush- He told it like it was! But he cautions them not to miss what God is doing. "God is working," he says, "but you can't see it. You can't believe it even though it's in broad daylight, right in front of you."

So it made me think, what other things in my life am I missing? Things that God wants to do? Sure, I'm believing Him for a baby and to heal my infertility, and we're trusting Him for finances for this next season, but what else? What things in my heart, or in my relationships is He wanting to work on, and I may be missing? Because what's neat is that God is so faithful, when we're willing to recognize the things He is doing, He's faithful to complete it to perfection.

I just really enjoyed reading these things this morning,and thought you might as well. Happy Friday!!

We are currently in Evansville, Indiana. Jordan planned this trip some time ago to do some fund raising for some of the new things he is stepping into, (Click HERE for more info) and he really wanted me to come with him since he'd be there an entire week. When we realized that I can work from pretty much anywhere with a strong internet connection- we decided that I would come with him. So, I'm currently working from Jerry & Cindy Lamar's this week. It's going well so far- please pray for us as we continue stepping out in faith to raise the support we need for Jordan to be in full-time ministry.

Well, I absolutely must finish off the post I started about camp. I told you about all the fun we had and activities we did, but the most incredible things were the things that happened in these student's lives. We saw some give their lives to Christ, we saw some decide to return to following God after doing their own thing, we saw some realize their callings in life and so many set free and let go of unforgiveness, bitterness, suicidal thoughts, anger and so many other things that were holding them back from what God has for them.

So many times, we see it take a couple of days for students to really feel comfortable and get into being there...enough to let their guards down to really hear from God, but what we saw this year, was students going right after it, from the very moment we got there. By the time we had the first session, which was a couple of hours after we arrived at camp, I had already had conversations with 2 or 3 girls about breakthrough they needed in life. That first evening was incredible. We saw them give their lives to the Lord- let go in worship- tune in the message...amazing!

I could write for probably the next 3 hours about different things, but since I don't have that kind of time or space (nor do you) here are some highlights:

- Sunday night worship: students and leaders alike went RIGHT for it. I co-led with Kyle and we had an awesome time!
- Monday night dorm time: just saw the girls really let down their walls and share with one another, victories and struggles alike.
- Tuesday night, praying with one young lady to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit, which we believe is for greater power in our lives. We receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior and then He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit for greater power and effectiveness in our lives.
- Wednesday night- many of us as leaders were sensing that it was to be a night of extensive ministry. Joel and I were leading worship, and both of us were really struggling vocally. I was praying for wisdom in what to do, and really sensed that we were to go forward and trust God to restore our voices, and He did JUST that. The entire night, I was able to sing full range and full strength.
-Wednesday night, we had prayer for many different things for the students, ranging from those who have had suicidal thoughts or oppression, to those who needed to forgive fathers and mothers. We saw UNPRECEDENTED breakthrough in their lives that night
-Thursday night, baptising several of our students in water. What a sweet and amazing time that was.

I could go into great detail, but alas- the time!

Check out this video if you get a chance....there are a few students sharing here:

What a GREAT movie! We saw it Wednesday with Hope & Steve and it did NOT disappoint. I'm anxious to see it again. I used a couple of the the songs from the soundtrack this year for camp- check out my favorite one at my listening section on the right, and I would highly recommend this movie if you have yet to see it.

I couldn't embed this video- I guess Sony has it protected, but I am totally DIGGIN' this song. I actually stumbled on Sara Bareilles about 5 months ago on iTunes and loved her, but didn't buy the album. (it was $6.99 on iTunes- shoulda snatched it up) This is her second single and it's great!

Click HERE and take a listen

So now we're back from camp, and I have no idea how to begin!! Way, way, way too much happened to be contained in a tiny little post. I think what I'll do it tell a little about some of the funny and activities-related things, and then later this week tell about some of the transformation that occurred in many, many students' lives.

So, first of all, I must talk about my team! A few years back, we (the activities team- mainly Jordan) determined to have names for the teams that were consistent from year to year instead of having them come up with a team name on their own. We chose cherokee animal names like Yona(bear,) Soquili(horse,) Tlvdatsi(mountain lion,) and Uwohali(eagle.) Last year we had 10 teams total, but needed to add 2 more this year, so we added Wahuhi (owl,) and Ogana(groundhog.) I was, of course, a groundhog! My team was awesome!! I was so proud of them. They really worked together and we ended up going from placing 9th or 10th the first day to 1st the 3rd day and a VERY close 2nd the 4th day. They were SO much fun and one of my favorite teams ever!



My dorm was also a lot of fun. My group was about half of the junior high girls from Spring Hill and we were partnered with Marisha Wagner who had about half of the junior high girls from Cool Springs. Our evenings were complete with LOTS of giggling, creaking bunk beds and funny sleep talking. We had a lot of fun with dorm inspections, and made "stuffed people" the first day which was HILARIOUS. Click HERE to watch the dorm videos. They were really funny! We were Tefteller B.


Team competitions were amazing this year! Here's a run down of the days:

Monday: This was what we call "Name Discovery" where everyone finds out what team they're on, and who else is on it with them. We had 1,000 feet of twine per team, beginning at the center of camp and weaving all throughout. They had to follow it to the end, and then decipher some puzzles that led them to their next clue. It looked like a giant spider web and was amazing.


Tuesday: This game was called angle ball. It consisted of 4 seven foot tall posts with a basketball on top. The teams were trying to knock the basketball off, getting passed defenders and keeping their's from being knocked off as well. Again, will post pictures of this later.

Wednesday: This game is called tank. Basically each person is paired with another one on their team, with one person, the "gunner" being blindfolded. The gunner gets a mouthfull of flour, and then, while guided by the other, non-blindfolded person, walks around the field trying to "shoot" the other tanks. It's basically a game of annihilation and this is the one my team won. It looks something like this:

Thursday: this was a repeat from last year called "Storm the Mound" It is impossible to describe this game but let me just say it is one of the most incredible games I have ever played. My team came in 2nd by 5 points! Crazy!

And then I must just add a picture of some of my girlies being so fun and getting into it. I love these girls so much!



Well, if this isn't long enough for you, check back later for more stories and more pictures!

Ever since my last post about camp, it has been my life :0) We've been cutting twine, material, painting, pasting, coming up with games/riddles, making emblems, blindfolds, wood burning team staffs, planning, praying, practicing, etc. I've been purchasing everything from posterboard and muslin fabric to flagging tape and burlap bags.

We've also had some really late nights this week. Tuesday night we had the team over working on all this stuff, and despite us starting at 5:30, we were still going strong with lots to do at 11:30. TOO late for my taste. Last night, I got home from camp worship rehearsal about 9:30 and saw Ian & Jordan all the way down at the end of our street with twine stretch down the length of it. We found out we are oh, about 4,000 feet short what we needed. (How was I supposed to know that 2-ply 8,500 feet meant it was only 4,250 of usable twine) So, instead of the 17,000 feet we thought we were getting, it ended up being 8,500. And now I need 4,000 more - so, trying to find that. Stayed up WAY to late this morning, and then J & Ian woke up at 6:00am to finish wrapping said twine....all that to say, I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. We certainly need it to get rested up befor Sunday!

This is an amazing time, though and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am so excited this year- not about games and activities, although I know those will be awesome, but about the breakthrough that will happen in these students lives. I am more sure of it and passionate about it than I've ever been.

Please be praying for us next week. I would LOVE to have an amazing blanket of prayer over us, which I know we will!