It HaS BeEn OnE of ThOsE DaYs

You Have to Listen to This!

I sometimes listen to the Focus on the Family Podcast in the car. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week, James Dobson interviewed Stephen Curtis Chapman about the death of his youngest daughter this past May. I cannot tell you how much this interview impacted me. The faith of this family is utterly AMAZING. Their emotions are still very much raw and I was crying within the first two minutes... it usually doesn't take much with me.
I am blogger illiterate, or I would post a link to this podcast. All you need to do is go to the Focus on the Family website and it should have a link to the three-day podcast. The title is, The God of All Comfort Part 1, 2, and 3.If you get a chance, take the time to listen to it in it's entirety. I know that Lord is going to use their story in a mighty, mighty way.

FiRsT DaY Of ScHoOl

Mark's response to my instruction to "look spiritual" for his first day of school pic:)

The BaChElOrEtTe

Way Prettier than DeAnna (ABC's version), my favorite Bachelorette and Bff,Heather (aka Dr. Fabulous),had her Bachelorette Party this weekend in Austin. It was such a fun time hanging out with old friends and new friends. Her sisters rented out a beautiful condo on Lake Travis. We had such a great time eating, winetasting, chatting, eating again, enjoying Austin life, eating, and little sleeping. Heather is such an encouragement to so many, and it was so nice to show her how much we all LOVE her and look forward to celebrating her marriage to Robert in October.

Theme Parks Rock

Those of you that know Mark well, know that he has a LOVE for all theme parks, especially Disney World. We went there on our honeymoon and had such a BLAST. In the 5 years we have been married, we have been to Disney World 3 times and are going again in November with his parents. LOVE it! A couple of weeks ago, Mark and I went to Universal Studios for the weekend. We had free plane tickets that we had to use, so we enjoyed a nice weekend in Florida. It was so fun to just hang out with Mark, eat at fun places, go see movies (which I never do), and ride fun rides. It was such a great time....a nice getaway before school starts. Thanks, Mark for such a wonderful weekend.

Morning PeRsOn

Free at Last

Last day Euphoria

What did I get myself in to?!?!

In the tradition of moms taking pictures on the first day of school, I thought I would document Mark's LAST day of work. Say what?!? Yep, he quit his job for the last 5 years on Monday and starts school at DTS in 2 weeks. He has been wanting to do this for a long time and is so happy that the time is actually here. I am so proud of him. I have to admit that I have not always been so excited about this career-change, "school-full-time", ministry decision. I have always felt like ministry/missions is what the Lord has for our family, but ....It is scary to me. I like my comfortable, easy life.....a lot. The Lord has worked on my heart over the past months and I really feel like I am at a place to say, "this is where we should be right now"...although I am still scared. Who knows what God has for us? It could be overseas missions, urban ministry, or staying right here in Dallas. Either way, I am glad that God makes these decisions for us. I pray that we both remain open to Him and whatever He has for us as we enter into this journey. This is exciting.

BLUSHING BRIDES

I feel so blessed to have recently celebrated the marriage and upcoming marriage of two of my closest friends,Erin and Heather. Both of these girls mean so much to me and I am so happy for them!! Nick and Robert are so lucky to get these lovely ladies. I LOVE them both so very much and really cherish their special friendship.CONGRATULATIONS to the both of you!

Congratulations Heather (who will marry Robert October 18)



Congratulations Erin (who got married on July 24 in ITALY!!!!) Ciao Bella!

BeAuTiFuL People

I thought I would share some personal snapshots into the lives of our friends in Guatemala in order to give a more in-depth look at our Summer trips. Sadly, my camera broke early in the trip, but I was able to take some pictures.

FACES OF GUATEMALA

women

The women of this community live hard lives. Often times they are the sole caregiver to their very large families. They are so sacrificial and really would do anything for their children. This year we were able to give these women some special gifts that allowed for some pampering. Thanks to several generous donations, the women enjoyed personal makeup bags full of makeup, toiletries, Lady Primrose soaps and body wash, and MaryKay lipsticks. You could see the JOY on their faces as they received each gift after the nightly Bible Study.



Julio, Lucrecia,Dara,and Yaris Garcia and AWANAS


Julio is a CAM missionary that ministers full-time to this community. He has a beautiful wife and two darling daughters. He has made unbelievably great strides in the last year with the implementation of the Awanas (Oansa) program for the farm children. Every week he and a few volunteers run AWANAS for children age 4-13. We had the privilege to witness this program first hand. The difference of behavior of the children in AWANAS and those that are not is unbelievable. They know so many Scriptures and seem to have a wonderful time singing songs and fellowshipping with one another. Julio also transports the farm kids to his church and back again every Sunday. Gracias a Dios for the Garcia Family, they are true SERVANTS



ELOISA


In 2005, Eloisa was on my team. We have developed a neat connection over the years and her Christ-like heart is evident through her actions and interactions with others. She is a special young lady. In Feb. 2008, one of her older brothers was murdered by a machete. Crime is a huge problem in this area and her brothers run in some pretty vicious circles. The first Sunday we were there, Eloisa had another older brother shot and murdered. The night of the murder, a small group of us went over to the widow's house to pray with her and her 8 children. It was such a surreal experience, standing in a mud house with a tarp roof, praying with a family whose future and livelihood was essentially destroyed. How are these children going to eat? Is the rest of this family going to be safe? Why do I complain about meaningless things? This family has real problems. If you think about it, please pray for Eloisa and her family...she is so very sweet and is so sad.



We could not have done this without the prayer/financial/supply support from so many of you. Words cannot express how thankful we are for your help. This was an amazing trip and the relationships formed are far from over. We cannot wait to get back to these BEAUTIFUL people that have such open,beautiful hearts.