a ONE-of-a-kind DAY!!!

Thanking God for the cool crisp air this morning...I love Fall!!
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Tony & I went to Herman park Saturday morning. There were several people there for what appeared to be family get-togethers. We set up near the gazebo and Tony started to sketch. It is neat how people just come over to look and see what we're doing. We were able tohand out some tracts and talk with a few people concerning the gospel. May God be exalted!

From there, we met my mom, Brittany, and Chrissie at Y'alls Pizza for lunch. We had a great time and laughed quite a bit. Chrissie played a great prank on Brittany by sending her mystery text messages. ;) I also recieved a message from Chrissie that said "I have a BIG thing to say... but I can't until tomorrow when Joey is with me." Hmmm... I wonder what it could be.

Tony & I headed home and the rest of the day was dedicated to school work - 9 essay questions and an exam. Ecclesiastes 12:12 is so true, "...much study is a weariness of the flesh." Our brains get so tired after studying a Management book for hours on end. Needless to say, we were both so happy when Tony finished all his assignments and we were able to relax and go to sleep.

Notes from Sunday's sermon: James 2:1-13 Pursuing or denying a relationship with someone based on how it will bring the most benefit to us is showing partiality/favortism. This is an evil, ugly, vile sin. This favortism (of the rich, a certain ethnic group, looks, tradition, etc) reveals what we really value. Jesus is the glorious one; not man. May God enable us to reflect his character. May relationships be pursued with pure motivations. May this sin not be taken lightly. What a glorious gospel - Christ died for my sin of distorting the gospel; for misrepresenting God. Jesus - that is where my hope lays!!

We chatted with folks for a while after church, then Tony & I went to lunch. First stop was subway - their credit card machine was down and we didn't have cash; so then we went to the Cheese Factory - only to find out that it was closed for a private event; we finally ended up at Anthony's Italian restaurant. haha. We sat in a booth and shared a greek salad and white cheese pizza. Amazing food! and Amazing fellowship with my husband!! ;) From there we picked up a few "specialty" items from Harris Teeter and went home.


At home Tony studied for his upcoming CLEP exam while I crocheted/cooked/cleaned. Then around 6:30 we went to my parents house for dinner and a made.by.Joey.&.Chrissie dessert. :)




Dinner was great! Then Joey & Chrissie served everyone a piece of their Apple Coffee Cake. And said this:::

There were many tears of joy and much rejoicing!!! :) We all sat around the table and listened to Joey & Chrissie talk about the proposal and how they announced it to her parents. Oh, and God led Joey to the most perfect ring for Chrissie. It is a circle of little diamonds surrounded by a row of 22 black diamonds .... 22 representing the day they first started dating "August 22nd." It's beautiful! I am so thankful to God for my brother and future sister-in-law!!! God has done a great thing in bringing the two of them together!!! :)

Brittany made them this really, really neat cake!

Mid-week Break

Last night we took a break from the demanding school work and went on a much anticipated date!! First we ate a simple dinner here at the house -- roasted sweet potatoes and salad. {That meal cost us less than a $1. :) Praise God for free sweet potatoes in abundance.} We then went through the starbucks drive-thru and got Tony a grande black coffee, then to the movie theatre to see "9." We sat side by side near the front of the theatre and shared a small popcorn and small sprite. Lovely time with my husband!!

Conversation with Kenna

This past week

Last Saturday through Tuesday, we were able to join some folks in VA to intentionally proclaim the gospel at a festival, abortion clinic, and college campus. It is always a joy to labor with them side by side. to see the Spirit leading our conversations. and our steps. And the fellowship amongst us is so sweet. Nathan & Mary kindly opened their home and even shared some of their raw milk with us {it was so yummy!}. We thank God for our friends in Virginia! :)





Since we lost a couple days by traveling, all of Tony's school work was crammed into four days. In addition to reading four chapters, he had several writing assignments to complete and a quiz. Most was from the very demanding Management class. Our Saturday consisted of writing a paper, changing the brakes on the car, studying, and taking a test pretty late in the evening. Our brains were so tired! A schoolwork-free Sabbath was our motivation, along with a big bowl of buttery popcorn and Octoberfest after midnight on Saturday night. ;)

It was 3:33am when we finally made it to bed. Our alarm clock was set for 7am and it didn't take many seconds for me to fall asleep. Praise God for the gift of sleep!! And a comfy bed with soft sheets and fluffy pillows. :) Sunday morning, I hear the alarm going off. I lay there for a few seconds, figure out the day in my mind, stretch a little bit, and determine that I feel pretty good for only receiving three hours of sleep. I picked up my head to look at the clock. Gasp!! "Tony, it's 9 o'clock." No wonder I felt pretty good--we got two extra hours of sleep. The clock that was set for 7am never went off - it actually still read 3:33am. Yeah, so we think it's broken. Tony's phone is what actually woke us up. We laid there for a few minutes debating on whether or not we should try to make it to church. Yep! So we jumped out of bed (not literally) and got ready real fast. We were about 5 minutes late to the main service and I think we only missed announcements. Whew. Our church celebrated it's 3rd birthday with a picnic right after the service. It was fun eating and fellowshipping with everyone.

Our Sabbath day was lovely. Rejuvenating. A breath of fresh air.
We praise God for it!!

Last night, we went to my parents house to celebrate my sister's birthday. Brittany is now 20 years old. Dad & Mom have no more teenagers. We enjoyed homemade pizzas, breadsticks, and salad. And a made.by.mom Tiramusu cake.

A little crocheted owl

Sisters

Happy Monthiversary

Saturday we celebrated eighty months of togetherness.

Rings true with my heart: How Diapers & Dishes Will Change the World

This is an excellent article published by American Vision.
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I used to be a useless Christian. My bad end-times beliefs not only terrified me, but completely immobilized and retarded my spiritual life. Bible classes at my private school encouraged our imaginations to run wild, and what started out as a pre-teen fascination and curiosity in Biblical prophecy soon turned into an intense phobia. Youth-group films that illustrated our bizarre ideas only inflated our fears. Our teachers never applied systematic theology; in fact, we never even opened a Bible. Just pure scare tactics from the good ol’ Fire and Life Insurance Agency. For me this turned into a life altering fear.

I never dreamed fear could grow roots like it did. By the time I was a teenager I was afraid to listen to the news or read the newspaper for fear that I would see more “signs” of the “end.” I became afraid of technology. I was afraid of barcodes (I was told these were the mark of the beast). I couldn’t watch movies that were “futuristic” or apocalyptic in nature. I became so fearful that I had a hard time enjoying life at all. Sunny days were gloomy to me as everything reminded me of my impending doom. This fear was a weed and the roots had grown so long and deep that they became entangled in every part of my life. When I tried to pull it out, it would break and grow back later.

I was aware of what an eschatological belief could do. A lot of other Christians I knew weren’t as afraid as me—some of them believed in the rapture. They welcomed the bad news and rejoiced in the evil condition of the world because it meant that we would get whipped out of here faster. However, my church taught that Christians were most likely going to go through this terrifying “tribulation” where we would deal with the persecution of “the Antichrist” and most of us would wind up dead or wishing we were.

By the time I got married I was finally starting to vocalize this fear. A year later when we had our first child and brought him home from the hospital I should have felt pure joy. Instead I felt tremendous guilt and sorrow. How could we be so cruel as to have a child who would have to endure this future tribulation? The world was so evil and it would only get worse—if the rapture wasn’t real our poor child would have to deal with the Antichrist. I was a brand new mom and felt as though I had already failed. This might sound silly to some, but it was very real for me.

I was pregnant with our second child when I was given two books that changed my life: Last Days Madness, by Gary DeMar, and Paradise Restored, by the late David Chilton. My fear had grown so bad that just reading the chapter titles gave me waves of adrenaline. However, I made myself read one page at a time, one scripture at a time. I started to realize immediately the power that was over me for so long: lack of biblical education and bad theology. Could it be as simple as that? I read on and slowly one chain broke after another. I can honestly say as a lifelong Christian I had never been free until I understood eschatology (the study of “last things”) in its proper form. After those books I moved on to the Basic Training DVD series that helped me to really understand the standard for biblical interpretation. With so many years of thinking “the end” was in my future I had developed some real triggers, some that I still deal with today but am able to neutralize almost immediately by applying proper hermeneutics.

Continue reading article here.

Refashioned Polo Shirt

I have a rather large pile of clothes I no longer wear. They've been sitting in my closet for several months now, waiting for a yardsale/trip to the good will. Then yesterday I saw this tutorial of how to refashion a shirt. "That looks easy enough." So I went through my unwanted clothes pile and selected a shirt to refashion. I took a plain green polo shirt (identical to the one pictured above), and turned it into a ruffly top. I even had enough scraps to make a little bracelet to match. It's like a new shirt!! Now I'm starting to second guess getting rid of that pile of clothes in my closet.

Enchanted Porch, Taj Mahal, & Life

Just finished eating breakfast with my sweet husband! So happy that he has the day off work, although most of the day he'll be doing school work. But I can interrupt him every once and a while to give him a big hug. ;)

My main assignment for the day is to stain our front porch. Within the past week, I've scrubbed the porch twice with a little bristle brush. I kind of felt like Cinderella out on the porch on my hands and knees, scrubbing away the packed on dirt. Too bad the birds and squirrels didn't come to help. Just a writing spider and a huge spider sack of some sort (ick!). Praise the Lord they hadn't hatched. Tony was so kind to scoop it up into a glass jar and put a lid on it. I think we're going to carry it over to show my dad, as he likes such things. We also purchased some liquid porch cleaner that has worked wonders. There are still a few spots on the porch that need to be scrubbed again. Then I'll start applying the stain. We're looking forward to seeing what it will look like when it's all said and done.

Edit: Didn't realize that there was a 60% chance of rain today. So staining the porch is out of the question. But I was able to get out there earlier and scrub the porch a bit more. God scrubbed my heart while I was at it - teaching me the importance of critiques, and even appreciating them. It wasn't an easy scrub. It really hurt. But God chastises those whom he loves. I am so grateful for a patient, forgiving God and a very gracious husband!!

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We have some very determined ants in our yard. Despite my efforts to get rid of them (aka kill them), they continue to build away. Within a couple days time they built this huge monument. And they continue to leave bite marks on my feet and ankles when I'm out in the garden. :(

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Saturday morning we went to Herman Park. Once again, not many people were out there. We actually left, ran a few errands, ate a yummy lunch at Aggies and then came back hoping more people would show up. We sat in the car for some minutes trying to decide what to do and where to set up. We prayed together that God would draw people. We set up the white board near the gazebo. A young couple was sitting up inside the gazebo and my initial thought was "oh, they will be the ones that will listen." But as they quickly walked away we handed them a gospel tract. Tony continued to set up the whiteboard. Several minutes go by and a young guy walked up toward us and asked if we had a phone that he could use; he was supposed to be meeting someone in the park. Tony let him use the cell phone, and then Tony started up a conversation regarding the questions written on the board [Are you a good person? How do you know?] Several minutes go by and that young couple from the beginning begin to walk back over toward the gazebo. That's who Zay was there to meet. God graciously brought them back to hear the gospel. The conversation was wrapped up and the three of them slowly walked away. Tony started to sketch a little bit more. Another couple walks over to us from the swing set. We exchanged "Hello's" and then they responded to the questions on the board. They listened for quite some time and even asked a few questions of their own at the end. It was a really good dialogue. May God do a work in their hearts.

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We had a very relaxing Lord's Day - a day set apart from the previous six. In Sunday school we discussed 2 Samuel chapter 6; the account where they're carrying the ark of God to Jerusalem. It was a big celebration. Everyone is making merry before the Lord with songs and instruments. Then all of a sudden the party stops. Uzzah is lying on the ground, dead. The oxen had stumbled and Uzzah reached out to keep the ark from falling. In our finite minds we may think "that's not fair. Uzzah was just being helpful. Why was he struck dead for protecting the ark of God?" But when we realize that God had laid out very specific rules for how the ark was to be carried, and that on this day David and these thirty thousand men were not abiding by those rules, we should not be asking ourselves, "How could God kill Uzzah for touching the ark?" We in turn, should be asking "Why didn't God kill all of those men?" For they all deserved to die that day; they had all broken God's law. But God let them live. There was much, much grace demonstrated that day!!

During the main service, Tony & I had four children sitting with us, since their parents were serving in the nursery. It was such a good experience for us and we both really enjoyed it! I teased Tony and said we went from having no children to four children in one morning. :) We heard very small bits of the sermon; no notes were taken. We were occupied with keeping one child (in particular) quiet and still. I know Tony & I looked at each other several times during the service and silently laughed. It didn't put a damper on our desire to have children one bit. ;) We were able to attentively listen to the sermon online last night ... praise God for technology, huh?

We spent most of the afternoon and early evening visiting with Tony's family ~ celebrating September birthdays. The honey dipped chicken strips were very tasty (that's actually what we served at our rehearsal dinner over four years ago!! :), as well as all the sides and sweets. Then we had fun playing with the neices and nephews - hide-n-seek, tag, up and down the wavy slide, a few bike tricks, cart wheels, ballet lessons, and lots of spinning.

Becoming an On-Purpose Home Keeper

God has taught me so much through the blog of Lylah Ledner. The God-given wisdom that she is leaving to future generations is wonderful, much needed, and much appreciated. In her most recent post she poses the below questions - helping us ladies to assess our home front. I would encourage you all to take some time to ponder these (and to read the rest of her post) ... maybe even jot your answers down in a journal, as Lylah suggested. Please, don't just breeze through these ... pour yourself a cup of tea or coffee. Sit down for a few minutes. And think.think.think. May God do a work in our hearts.

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What is the condition of my home? Is it a mess - clutter every where? Is there peace, unity, harmony?

Are there unresolved conflicts? Am I bitter about unresolved hurts from the past? Do I with hold sex from my husband or use it to manipulate him? Do I have a list of excuses as to why I can’t/don’t want to make love?

Are kind words the norm or is the tone more sarcastic or harsh? If so, why? Do my words edify and build up? Do I complain? Do I manipulate? Do I nag, grumble?

Do I have an attitude of submission and do I show my husband respect? Do I understand that he is God's authority in the home and do I understand what my husband's vision is and do I follow it?

Is communication surface or on a more intimate level? Does my husband’s heart trust me?

Do I wisely manage my time?

Am I content and does it show with joy? Am I always wanting more? Do I compare myself to other women?

Do I prepare nutrition meals for my family?

Am I a busy body?

Do I say things about my husband to others that uncovers his weaknesses…those character areas that God is working on? Do I correct his story in public . . . thus shaming him?

Do I place my children’s needs over that of my husbands? Do I serve my children and train my husband?

Is what I’m about to do going to help my husband? How am I affirming his leadership? Do I know what it means to express my femininity through supporting his leadership? How do I minister to my husband? How do I show him that I am fond of him?

Do I fully understand my biblical job description? Do I fully understand my husband’s biblical job description?

Do I see my husband in light of how God sees him? Or, do I have my husband locked in to patterns of the past? Do the choices I make serve me or my husband? Do I have a love for my home?

Is the God-designed creative nurture expressed within my home?

Grape jam...

Yesterday, we were blessed with a large bowl of muscadine grapes. Tony's mom was so kind to split her even larger bowl in half with me. :) So sweet she is! We picked them up last night after I finished mowing the yard and transplanting a few trees.

Today I turned a portion of them into freezer jam! Since the grapes have seeds in them, I wasn't quite sure how to process them. I really didn't want to resort to the cooking method, seeing that fruit looses a lot of its nutrients when cooked and those recipes call for a lot more sugar. That's why I {love} the no cook freezer jam recipes!! They're quick, full of nutrition, and little sweetner is added. Back to my dilema of what to do about the seeds... after some research through trusty google, God led me to this article which became my guide. "I especially like the idea of receiving the added bonus of fresh grape seed extract from the crushed seeds!" I sorted and rinsed the grapes, dumped them in our blender and pulsed it a few times. Then I strained it through a cheese cloth and out came this beautiful juice; four cups of it.


I added that to the pectin and sugar. A couple hours later the jam was set and in the freezer it went. Well, all but one container that went into the fridge for immediate consumption. :) We had potato and egg skillet for dinner with bread topped with the above mentioned treat.

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Our fall garden is coming along nicely. A few cucumber plants have already sprouted and I'll be planting the onions within the next couple days. Lord willing everything will grow.grow.grow.

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After dinner and a computer diagnosis, Tony & I went for a brief walk. This fall-like weather is lovely. We were trying to capture a picture of the both of us walking down the road - didn't quite work, but I still like it!!

I am sooo blessed to be his wife. To be Mrs. Tony Denham. :)

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Speaking of my sweet husband, he's sitting at the desktop computer doing school work (I'm on the laptop close by). He's typing up a post about Horizon's Organic Egg Nog that is only out in small supply during the winter months - it relates to supply and demand. We talked about this delicous creamy drink for a few minutes and now we're both craving some. Ha! But we'll have to practice patience, as it won't be on the store shelf for another couple months. (Insert really sad face).

5 o'clock

That is our new wake-up time since Tony has started not just one, but two new classes this week (Microeconomics and Management). With two classes comes lots more reading and writing, which means more hours of school work. The goal is to graduate next August - and by God's grace, Tony will do just that! :) In an effort to spend our time efficiently during this season of our lives, we are tweaking our "life's schedule". Hence our alarm clocks going off at 5 o'clock in the morning, giving Tony time to get some school work done before he leaves for work. I think it will also relieve some of the pressure, by dividing up his work between the morning and evening hours.

So this morning, I woke up and started the coffee pot. Then fiddled around the kitchen, started a load of laundry, put some laundry away, removed some clutter from the dining room table and front living room. Then I fixed Tony an egg sandwich. :) He continued to read. I looked over his assignments for this week, trying to determine the best order for him to complete them in. Then Tony closed his school book. We sat at the table and read the Bible together. He got ready for work. I finished packing his lunch. Then we walked together to his truck. ;)

The chill this morning was a little unexpected. It feels like Fall already! And I love it!! It's urging me to make a pumpkin pie. Oh yes. :)

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Our weekend was lovely. Saturday morning we went to Herman Park where Tony set up his whiteboard for the first time. There were few people scattered throughout the park, but two 15 year old girls came over and heard the gospel. You can read Tony's account of it here. I served as the photographer. ;)

We went to Sam's Club to pick up a few items. Chatted with Joey for several minutes and then enjoyed some yummy cheese pizza. Back at home, I wrapped up the crocheted little piggy and we delivered it to our 4 year old niece for her birthday. She's so cute!! Then we made our way to Wilson; Tony attended a men's fellowship and I joined the ladies. It was good getting to know everyone a little better.

After church on Sunday, we came home and took an afternoon nap. (Insert sigh). And that evening we hung out at my parents house.