Sumo's Restaurant

Oh, we had so much fun last night at Sumo's (thanks to my parents and Brittany)!! Our table was reserved near the patio; kind of off in a little corner, real private. It was nice! We had a super sweet waitress... my sister Brittany, all dressed up in her little red Japanese dress with white socks and black flip flops. :) As an appetizer we ordered the Japanese egg rolls and dumplings. From the Hibachi grill, Tony ordered Fillet Mignon and I ordered the Chicken platter. It was served with steamed rice, veggies, soup, and salad. We also got a glass of plum wine and merlot wine. It was all very tasty!!! At the end, Brittany surprised us with a slice of Green Tea Cheese Cake drizzled with chocolate and topped with slivered white chocolate. Wow! That was so good!!! And good for you too, I'm sure of it. ;)

We finished up the night at Books-A-Million with my parents. I read from a few Raw Food Books and Tony got a head start on C++ for his schooling.

I am...

...Married to the greatest [hottest] guy on Florida Tech online campus!! And I even get to share a dorm room with him. ;) Marriage is a wonderful thing!!!

Excited

Well, this past Wednesday marked our third wedding anniversary. :) It was a special day indeed! I don't even like to imagine what life would be like without my dear husband Tony! I am so blessed to have a husband that loves Jesus more than he loves me. That is what makes our love so sweet!!!

The table was decorated with some of our wedding memoirs. I prepared a special dinner of spinich lasagna with vodka sauce and homemade wheat rolls. It was yummy!! I had considered making a dessert, but with it being church that night, I knew they would have something sweet to eat.

My mom and Brittany called that day to say "Happy Anniversary" and that they were going to do something for us but it wouldn't be until Friday. So today, Brittany called and said that her, dad, and mom were going to treat us to Sumo's Restaurant. We were both really excited about this! Thank you sooo very much guys! We love you LOTS!!! Brittany has made us reservations for 7:30pm to sit in the Hibachi Room where we can see the guys cook our food. And she is going to try and be our waitress. ;) So we're getting ready for our romantic dinner and a show. :) Yay!

06.25.05

Dirty feet

Last night we went to the Outlaw's house to celebrate our neices graduation from high school. Alot of the family was there, along with all the little neices and nephews. Toward the end of the night, Kevin, Brittney, Cayleigh, Tony, & I were walking to go see the new shelter that was being built. Along the way there was a really muddy section. So Brittney picked up 5 year old Cayleigh and carried her over the mud. Brittney ended up with mud all over her flip flops. I told Cayleigh "Brittney sacrificed for you." She said, "What's a sacrifice?" So I thought for a moment on how to respond. "Well, instead of you having to walk through the mud and get your feet dirty, Brittney carried you and got her feet dirty instead. The same with Jesus. We deserve to be punished for our sins against God, but Jesus was punished for us; He died in our place. That is a sacrifice." It was a really quick conversation... probably didn't even last 2 minutes. But I praise God for the object lesson; for the reminder of HIS sacrifice. Because of JESUS' sacrifice, my "feet" our clean.

So True

"The real key

to raising children

is theology."

-- Allister Begg --

Fathers Day 2008

I thank God for my dad so very much!! I just look back on all that we've been through as a family, and all that my dad has been through personally, and can see God's hand protecting and leading us. :) HE is good!!

On the way home from church, Tony & I stopped by Target to get a card for dad. Boy, did we find the perfect one. Haha.

At my parents house, Mom & I prepared lasagna, salad, and texas toast - per dad's request. ;) After dinner, we all played the game "Guesstures" for the first time - which made for lots of laughs. It was Dad, Mom, Joey, Chrissie, Tony, & I. (Matthew had to work until 6pm and Brittany was actually a traveling nanny for the weekend; she was pulling up as we were leaving.) Oh, and mom made a yummy "Ho Ho Cake". :) Then we watched an interesting documentary on the "Jesus Camp". It was a fun time together!!

That's a picture of my parents dog, "Pedro". He has this toy tire and he was sleeping on it like a pillow. It was funny. :)

Light in Raleigh

I captured this image Saturday night. My sweet husband, being led by the spirit to speak with this gentleman concerning the gospel. I am so privileged to have a husband such as he. ;)

Reflections on Revelation 1

((( The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Preached by Pastor Mark Driscoll

Everybody is a worshipper - the only difference is our object of worship. You know what you worship by how you spend your money, your time, and what you are passionate about. You are either worshipping the Creator God or the creation, which is idolatry (Romans 1). There are several false gods mentioned throughout scripture, much like the false gods that people serve today.

Artemis was the goddess of youth. Asherah was the goddess of sex. Baal was the god of wealth. Gad was the god of luck and chance. Molech required the sacrifice of children (abortion and dislike toward children). Nebo was the god of wisdom. There is the god of coveting and your stomach. Some worship other people. Ultimately, if you are not worshipping the One True God, then you are worshipping yourself.

Who do we worship? Many people approach the book of Revelation and start to pull everything apart and end up losing sight of the big "E". JESUS is the theme of the entire book. It is a book from JESUS and about JESUS. It is the unveiling of our great and glorious KING!

Why do we worship JESUS?
1. We worship Jesus because He is the faithful witness; He is not a liar. You can trust Jesus!
2. We worship Jesus because He is the first born of the dead. He is the Son of God. He alone has risen from death and can raise us also.
3. We worship Jesus because He is the prince of kings; He is king! The righteous live by faith - Jesus is the ruler!
4. We worship Jesus because He loves us. We love Him because He first loved us.
5. We worship Jesus because He freed us from our sins by His blood. We were once enslaved to sin and death; He made us free to worship Him.
6. We worship Jesus because He has made us kings and priests. We are now a part of God's kingdom. We now mediate God to other people - leading them to Jesus.
7. We worship Jesus because He is the God of glory and power!! We need His power!
AMEN - I agree!!!
8. We worship Jesus because He is coming back!! We will see his scars, the marks of crucifixion that were made on my behalf. For some it will bring tears of joy. For others it will bring tears of remorse because they've been idolaters.
9. We worship Jesus because He made it possible for us to be in agreement with him evidenced by shouting AMEN.
AMEN!
10. We worship Jesus becuase He is the I AM. He is God! Who is -alive now; Who was - alive in the past; and Who is to come - alive forever more.

How do we worship Jesus?
1. We worship Jesus by suffering as needed with patience and endurance in this life for His name. We must be faithful witnesses too.
2. We worship Jesus by not wavering from the truth of scripture or call of ministry.
3. We worship Jesus on the Lord's Day.
4. We worship Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. There is an internal reality of the Spirit and we can worship Jesus wherever and whenever!
5. We worship Jesus by being part of a church - the light in this dark world.
6. We worship Jesus by obeying the Scripture, here portrayed as a sword from His mouth.
7. We worship Jesus by acknowledging His incomparable greatness that exceeds our ability to even fully articulate.
8. We worship Jesus with bodily posture that includes falling down on our face.

How does worship transform our life?
Jesus actually placed His hands upon John to bless and commission him. John was encouraged, strengthened, and rejuvenated through worship because it is the very reason for which he was made by God. Likewise, as we are suffering, discouraged, weary, fearful, unsuccessful, lonely and the like we come to worship not with hands full to bless God, but rather with hands empty in need of Jesus who gives to us Himself and all that we need. We can count on Jesus; He is not going anywhere. We are to go out as candlesticks in this world.

Stop worshipping His creation. Worship the CREATOR!

AMEN!

Lord, let me be a person of praise. May I enjoy your creation, but may my affection always be inclined toward YOU.

***Here I am to Worship***

Light of the world

You stepped down into darkness

Opened my eyes,

Let me see

Beauty that made this heart adore you

Hope of a life spent with you

Here I am to worship

Here I am to bow down

Here I am to say that you're my God

You're altogether lovely

Altogether worthy

Altogether wonderful to me

King of all days

So highly exalted

Glorious in heaven above

Humbly you came to the earth you created

All for love's sake became poor

So, Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that you're my God
You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me

I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross

~Date Night~

We decided to make this past Saturday a "Tony/Shayna day". :) We try to have those often. After breakfast we went hiking/running at the cliffs. Came home and gave Tony a hair cut. My parents stopped by for a little while and brought me a mint plant to add to my little herb garden. Yay! Once we were all dressed up, we headed to Kinston to try out the "Chef & the Farmer: Progressive Eatery". We knew that it was a fancy restaurant - but didn't realize the extent of the fanciness. We weren't too sure how we were supposed to eat the bruchetta or even drink our water. It made for lots of funny comments during the night. The food was very good, but we felt so ripped off after we left there. We had ordered a large entree' to split, thinking that it would be plenty of food for $19 (and that was one of the cheaper plates). Well, when they brought us our "Ricotta & Asparagus Ravioli" we were both shocked at the lack of food on our plates. It was such a small serving - it could have fit in the palm of my hand. Must I remind you that it cost us $19... and we didn't even get any meat. :O We just laughed at each other!! We savored our few bites and wondered how many other people had the same reaction on their first visit. After we paid, we walked off all our food downtown and at the mall. Haha. Then we came home and made a homemade cheese pizza - yes, we were still hungry. :) And we stayed up watching a sermon by Paul Washer. Although, I seriously doubt we'll be going back to the Chef & the Farmer, it sure did make for a fun date night!!

Peaches

Tony was kind enough to stop by the fruit stand on his way home from work and purchase some peaches. :) Thanks sweetie!! So tonight, I've fixed a very tasty peach cobbler (which Tony has been craving) and some freezer jam. Yummy!!!

Here's the recipe for the peach cobbler:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp baking powder

3/4 cup milk

3 cups sliced peaches

1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350*.
Melt the butter in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat until it bubbles and turns golden-brown.
Pour the butter into an 8-inch square baking dish.
In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and milk.
Pour the batter on top of the melted butter. Do not stir.
Without mixing, arrange the peaches evenly on top of the batter.
Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar over the cobbler.
Bake the cobbler for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top turns golden brown. The batter will migrate from the bottom of the pan to cover the peach slices partially.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield 6 to 8 servings.

Seminary

Well, our pastor gave us the most recent copy of the "Ministry & Leadership Magazine" put out by Reformed Theological Seminary. In there was an article titled "The iTunesU Explosion: Growing numbers of people worldwide are listening to RTS lectures at the click of a downlaod". That is right, RTS has made it possible for anyone, anywhere to download and listen to nearly all their lecture files for absolutely FREE. Tony is super excited about this!! He called me into the computer room and told me the news. He said "Bebe, I'm going to seminary". :) Haha. Some things he said during the night while touring the online campus: "I'm excited about this. This is wonderful. Praise the Lord! This is like gold; diamonds on a platter... The Lord is good!"

"Cool Whip"

C.W. Smith

January 15, 1953 - May 30, 2008

When I worked at Mae's Restaurant in Seven Springs, I served breakfast to this gentle man a lot. He alway's had stories and jokes to tell. He will be greatly missed! When I was given the news of his death, my heart was torn. I just kept thinking of his sweet wife, who slept beside him the night before having no idea that it was going to be their last night side by side as husband and wife. I was thinking about his three daughters, three "sons", and 2 grandbabies. I was thinking about his parents who have now buried two of their three children. I received the news of his heart attack right before we left for the Center Street Jam. Mom called me. She had just served breakfast to him that morning and he was being his silly normal self. "Good morning Shortcake". "Good morning Cool Whip". Mom and Jackie didn't know that would be the last meal they would serve him. We were going to the Center Street Jam to share the gospel with strangers. Mom said through tears, "talk to lots of people, Shayna. Because you never know." That's right. We never know. And as we drove around Goldsboro that night I just kept thinking "what if this is my last night with Tony... my sweet husband, my bestest friend, my true love..." And we went into Wal-mart and saw my parents and talked to them for a little while. "That could be the last time I see them..." My mind just kept racing with these thoughts. And as I lay in bed that night, beside my Tony, tears still rolled down my face. Just knowing that we have no control over when we're going to die. And knowing that it is going to happen to everyone some day. And knowing that someone I love may die that very night. For it is appointed a man once to die... There were lots of tears shed that day and I prayed alot for this family!! My sweet, sweet husband comforted me with the Truths of scripture. I wish I could remember all he told me that night. All I know is that his words did comfort me and GOD did give me peace. I am so blessed to have Tony Denham as my husband!!!! I will be forever grateful! Yesterday, I went with mom to the funeral service. There were lots of people. There were lots of cars. C.W. Smith was greatly loved by many. And he will be greatly missed! But as the pastor said yesterday, his death should remind us to not take our time on this earth for granted and it also reminds us that we will all one day die. He preached the gospel and I am so glad that he did! A call to trust in Jesus Christ alone! We should live each day as if it were our last, because one day we will be right. I continue to pray for this dear family, that God will comfort them in a way that only HE can, and give them a peace that passes all understanding!!

A "Light" in Raleigh

Last night, Tony & I went to Raleigh Downtown Live (a free summer concert hosted by Bud Light). This was our first time at this event with Tony's sandwich board, and I must say it was definately a ray of light in a very dark place. We stationed ourselves near one of the entrances; I stood by the light pole and offered gospel tracts to people as they walked by. Tony just stood there with his sandwich board on... no open air preaching. It is amazing how many people will actually read the words out loud, "You must turn from your sins and place your trust in Jesus alone". And there were a few that even wanted to get their picture taken with us. We decided that we will not turn down a picture... because when they are flipping through their pictures at a later time, it will be a great reminder of the gospel and a witness to whomever they show the picture to. Then some of them even walk around to see what the back says, "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom". Most of them are saying it in a mocking manner, and some make "smart" comments afterwards and hastily walk off; but then there are those that want to talk.

One guy had walked up to Tony, took hold of the sandwich board and read it out loud to himself a couple times. "I believe in Jesus", he said. He had obviously been drinking. His sober wife walked over to apologize. She took hold of her husband and told him to leave us alone. He still stood there. Tony began to talk with him and encouraged him to read the book of 1 John sometime soon. The Bible says that we are to examine ourselves to make sure that we're in the faith(2 Corinthians 13:5). It was pretty much left at that. His wife was so grateful and thanked us for being out there. We gave her a gospel tract written by J.C. Ryle, titled "Are You Born Again?".

A young guy could not give account for his moral standards with his atheistic worldview. If he truly believes that everything happened by random chance, then he has no reason to be nice to others. As a Christian, we believe that God created everything and he gave every person a conscience - that tells them right from wrong. When asked his name, he responded "Oh, funny you ask. I don't go by Christian anymore... my name is Chris."

We also spoke with a Muslim man, his Christian wife that went to Bible college, and a friend of theirs. Most of the conversation was with the husband, but the wife and friend stood there nearly the whole time listening. His name was Muhammad, he speaks fluent Arabic and pretty good English. He admitted that as a Muslim, no one can be assured that they will end up in Heaven when they die. Our friend, Fareid had given us some Arabic gospel tracts a while ago. At first I thought that I didn't have any with me, but when I began to look through my purse I found one. (Thank you Jesus!)