A New Chapter....

Well, Byron and I are both officially Wildcats now. YAY! We found out yesterday that he is the new Choir/Arts & Humanities teacher at Franklin-Simpson High School! We have both been nervous and unsettled this week. I think it's because we both really wanted him to get this job. It's funny. Two years ago, we both decided to follow what God had placed in our hearts for a long time. Neither one of us really knew what lie ahead or what God had in store. But we decided to go anyway, knowing that He always gives enough light for the step we are on. That was an interesting leap. And, I try to hide it, but I hate change. I even hate good change simply for the fact that things won't be the same as I always knew. So it was a difficult thing for me to leave a place where I was comfortable and where I loved the people I was around. But it was the best thing we ever did. And, now God has paved the way for both of us to be back in Franklin. Our hearts were there already, as God has inclined them to care so much for the youth there. And, now we have the wonderful opportunity of teaching them and being involved in their lives in a positive way.

I have learned so much over the past two years. I have learned that I cannot control my circumstances--even though I still sometimes want to so badly. Along with not liking change, I am also a slight control freak. Anyway, it is good that I don't control my circumstances. God always does an infinitely better job with my circumstances than I ever could. He literally brings "wild honey from the rock" (Psalm 81:16). There were many lean months. There were days that we shouldn't have eaten. But we never went without. God always provided for all of our needs--whether it was through His people (we have a wonderful family, friends, and congregation), or out of the blue (random refund checks in the mail). Another thing I have learned is that God is faithful, even though we are not. There are times when we let busyness, studying, teaching, sleeping, or any other number of things distance us from the God who loves us too much to ever let us go. So, for this season of immense blessing, we give Him all the praise, all the glory, and all of our thanks!

"We will not hide these truths from our children;

we will tell the next generation

about the glorious deeds of the LORD,

about his power and his mighty wonders.

So each generation should set its hope anew on God,

not forgetting his glorious miracles

and obeying his commands."

(Psalm 78:4,7)

"But as for me, I will always proclaim what God has done;

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob."
(Psalm 75:9)

I am so excited about what this new season will bring. My prayer is that I will keep learning how to be content with less. (Even though, to celebrate, I bought Mott's applesauce AND the baked Lays that I usually don't buy because they are too expensive). But, wouldn't it be great to be able to finally give to others as we have been given?! I am convicted by the attitudes of the early church, who sold everything they had and gave to everyone who had need. And I am heavy because I know the need is great. After spending a week in NYC, I saw the great need in our own country. Even during the time when we had the least, we had so much more than most of the world. And not just monetarily. We have hope that this world is not all there is. We have a heavenly Father who walks beside us during every season. I am convinced that the world must know Jesus is Lord, but the only way to begin to show His love is to provide for their physical needs first.

Selfishly, I still want a nice house that's neither mine nor Byron's....I want a home that we found together. I want to go to the grocery and not get only the generic items (even though most of the time, there is no difference). I want to travel, I want......The list goes on and on. I think some of this is okay. But I pray that I will never lose sight of those in need, and that I will always be generous--joyfully generous--to anyone that God places in our path.

Back from Baltimore!

Byron and I just returned from a World Music Drumming workshop in Baltimore, Maryland. It was awesome! We learned so much, and I am so excited about taking it back to Franklin! We met a lot of really neat people--some teach in Maryland, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, and even Japan! Meeting them and getting to study the music of Ghana, West Africa, as well as Latin America, and the Caribbean made us realize how big the world is, but also how small. The differences remind us of how great and awesome and infinite God is, and the similarities remind us that we have "One Lord, and one Faith...."

Besides drumming like crazy, we also got to hang out in Baltimore. Baltimore is neat--it's like a southern city in the "north," though I guess they wouldn't consider themselves Yankees or anything. I love all the small, ecclectic restaurants (we visited Paper Moon for dinner and again for dessert, Arco's for Mexican and the best tortilla chips ever, the James Joyce where we and David's friends won trivia night!, John Steven, Ltd. for some amazing crab cakes, Pei Wei, and Camden Yards for some $1 hot dogs and a great game), the culture, and the beautiful harbor! It's Byron's new favorite city. And there is so much history there, which we both love (Federal Hill and Fort McHenry, for example).

Even though we were taking the workshop as a class, we treated it as a mini-vacation. It was fun just hanging out again with my husband and going on dates! We don't get to do that very often in BG...it seems like there's always something (i.e. laundry, grass to be mowed) to be done. I think that's why we love to travel so much. Not only do you get to see new things, but you also get to enjoy what is constant!

The trip also allowed us to stay with my Aunt Susanne in Lexington on our way up there and back! We had a great time there, also! And we ate good! Byron has been spoiled this week in that department.....hopefully he'll still eat the things I can make! We also got to go to my Aunt's church with our friends Maryann and Bryan! She goes to Southland Christian, and it is always wonderful to worship there. If you're ever in Lexington, GO! The message was on the first chapter of James--"Just Duet"--check it out on their website.

On another note, Byron has a job interview on Wednesday--we would really appreciate your prayers. We believe that we're starting to see part of the plan God has for our lives, and are very excited about the possibilities! God has been so incredibly faithful to us, even though we seem to lack in that area. We are so thankful and give Him all the praise for what He has done and what He is doing in our lives!

Me and Dad!

This is me with my Dad on California's Hollywood Boulevard....he got a picture with two of his favorite gals :0). Most of you who will be reading this know that Dad is having some heart problems right now. The doctors have been wonderful, and so he is doing great right now. We are very thankful that God provided such great treatment and such quick responses! So, here's asking all of you to do what you do best--pray like crazy for a speedy recovery and that he will do all the things the doctors ask him to do after he gets home! He is as stubborn as I am, so.... :o) I love you, Daddy! Glad you're doing good!

Even more NYC...

Here are more pictures of the worship service we led on Tuesday. These are my little ducklings! :0) If you are curious, we are all in yellow because our message was about the Light of the Glory of God, and how it gives HOPE! But we did wear this all day, and everybody was so cute! I love yellow! It is very happy.Some of our youth mingling with the men at the Bowery!
This is everybody on a bridge in Central Park! "We've been dreaming of a true love's kiss...." This is all of us on the ferry going out to the Statue of Liberty---we are awake now.....on the ride back, it was a very different story!
Our last day at the Bowery was very emotional. We were excited about going home, but were very sad about leaving. One week here made us all very different people than when we came, and we will always be grateful! In this picture, I am presenting them with a picture of us that we all signed, so that they can remember us!

More NYC...

This is the chapel at the Bowery Mission. We were privileged to lead them in worship on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. This was definitely an experience I will never forget.The Bowery also does several outreach ministries throughout Manhattan. They provide a meal and plenty of bread for the people that frequent each place. The first outreach group (with Byron) went to Brighton Beach near Coney Island. They served a primarily Russian community. This outreach is in Tompkins Square Park, and it is a primarily Asian community. Several of our groups went here.

Here's a picture of a bunch of us crammed in the Bowery Outreach van. It was HOT!!! Basically, it is a metal box on wheels....no AC, one bench for seating, and shelves for food.

New York City Mission Trip 2008, Baby!

June 7-14, we and 5 other brave souls took our Youth Choir up to NYC for a mission trip. We worked in the Bowery Mission, a shelter that provides food, clothing, showers, shelter, and hope through Jesus Christ to the homeless community there. Located in Lower Manhattan (just blocks away from Little Italy and Chinatown), it's doors have literally always been open (24/7) since 1879! This was an amazing experience for us and for all the youth we took. We got to work alongside the men that the Bowery serves in the kitchen, the clothing closet, the shower program, the worship services, and the outreach program! We all learned to really appreciate food, rest, and cool air from wherever it comes! I will upload some pictures as soon as I can with commentary, as most of them, in the words of Ricky Ricardo, "need some 'splainin.'"

This is Jennifer, Beth, Elizabeth, Caroline, me, and Kelli in the food pantry on Monday. They were organizing and labelling fools! :0) Here we are taking a break on our makeshift chairs! (2 big cans of tomato paste really do the trick!)

This is the food line. Each day, we served 2 rounds of breakfast, 2 rounds of lunch, and we often served dinner also! This was one of my favorite parts, because you really got to interact with the people!

Here are Julia, Casey, and Carol helping Marshall in the kitchen. Those grilled cheese sandwiches were AWESOME! And the ravioli was even better!

Katie, Martha, Kristen, Laura, Casey, and Julia celebrate the Swedish Fish and orange slices were got for dessert at lunch on Tuesday. Gummi treats always make for a good day!

Martha, Laura, and others working hard to organize the clothing closet. The amount of donations that came and went every day was unbelievable. Here, we organized the clothes into types and sizes so that they would be ready for the shower ministry later that day. During the shower ministry, men could come in, eat lunch, take a shower, receive new clothes, and even get a haircut if they

wanted!

Jerri folding towels!

This is me, Kathy, Caroline, and Jennifer working on re-stocking the closet on Tuesday!

This is Byron and Aaron working super hard, carrying down hundreds of boxes down three flights of stairs with no air conditioning! All of our guys were superheroes on Tuesday!

Our first post--yay!

Hey, everyone!
This is our first post on our new blog! We'll see how good we are at updating it......hopefully better than I am at facebook! :0) The pictures will definitely come later, as we still have dial-up internet! So, as soon as we can mooch off someone else's good internet, we'll show you what we've been up to! We love you all and hope you're doing well!
Susie and Byron