Since it has been almost a week since my last update (which I think is a record for me when I'm in town), here are some highlights from the last few days.
* Last Wednesday night we had an AMAZING Girls' Prayer Group. We spent time baking and laughing, then reading the word and praying. It was incredible!!! We are seeing amazing growth among the teen girls recently and it has been so wonderful to be a part of! We have been praying for years for revival among the girls, and its happening!!
* Saturday I took Tasha and A to Build-A-Bear! A just turned 5 and Tasha just turned 9 and I wanted to do something special for their birthday. We all had so much fun! Build-A-Bear is exactly what it sounds like, the kids get to build their own teddy bear. Here it is in pictures:
First, you pick a "bear" (they have all kinds of animals).
Next, you can pick a sound (A got a monkey sound for his monkey, Tasha picked a lullaby).
Then you go to stuff your bear. But first, you pick out a heart for your bear. They have you rub it over your heart to fill it with love, on your muscles so it will be strong, on your head so it can be smart, etc. This was one of the kids' favorite parts.
After the bear is stuffed, it gets a shower.
Then you pick out an outfit and dress it.
Finally, you print out its birth certificate and you are ready to go!!
Tasha (who's full name is Natasha) named her bear Latasha. A named his monkey after himself.
After Build-A-Bear we walked around the mall for a while and then headed to church for an ice cream party. Again, we had a ton of fun...and tried to keep the bears clean.
From the ice cream party we took A home and then picked up Bonita, Linda and Monique for a sleepover. One of the teens, Kirsten, spent the weekend at my house and agreed to watch the
girls for a few hours while I babysat Paxton and Kyler; Frank and Carisa's sons. I hadn't babysat them in months and I was so excited!!
So, after I got the girls settled I headed to the Hinsons for a fun night, and the boys did not disappoint!! Kyler (who is almost 2) kinda did his own thing, pausing occasionally to destroy whatever Paxton and I were working on (which thankfully made Paxton laugh, so there was no complaining or arguing!). Paxton and I had a blast playing games and I barely noticed that 2 hours had gone by. Pax and I are pretty close (he's pretty much the coolest kid ever), so I LOVED hanging out with him.
I came home from a fun night to find my house in chaos and destruction. However, less than 20 minutes after I walked through the door everything was back as it should be. The girls actually went to bed pretty early, though they did manage to get a lot of make up time in before bed.
* Sunday morning I led Sunday School (Carisa was out of town) and it actually went well! We were talking about Anger, which turned out to be very appropriate as one girls stormed into class very angry with her mom, and Bonita and Linda got into a big fight as well. Monique shared a lot and I was so excited that she opened up. It helped me understand her so much more, she really is such an amazing little girl.
Church went well and although I usually go out to lunch with the kids after, Build-A-Bear pretty much broke me so I just took the kids home. I didn't do much else on Sunday other than lead Prayer Pals. Paxton was the only kid that came, so really I just got to hang out with him more (which was again very fun).
* Sunday night and into today I stayed over at my friend Jen's house. Her husband is out of town and she has a small baby and she just feels more comfortable having someone else in the house. We don't get to hang out much and we had a BLAST! We talked a lot, laughed a lot and it was just so encouraging...plus her daughter is pretty stinkin' cute as well. I actually stayed over there most of the morning today as well.
* This afternoon I met with a woman at church who is a counselor. It has come to light recently that several teen girls that I am close to have been raped or sexually abused. They all are seeking help and wanting God to heal them, and we are really praying that this woman can help. The meeting went GREAT and we left so encouraged and excited about what God is going to do!!
* Finally, tonight was God Squad...and it was AWESOME!! My small group consisted of 6 girls, 5 of whom are God's Girls, which was so fun and encouraging. God really is doing some amazing things among the teen girls and I am continually blown away by them...and Him!! One girl in the group (one of the God's Girls) was telling us that her teacher had her class do a project where they had to make up their own religion; including what objects they would worship (a.k.a. idols). We had just talked about the stories of Daniel and the Lion's Den and Shadrach, Meshach and Abendego last week in God Squad, and she remembered what we talked about. So, she went to her teacher and told him that there was only one true God and she could not participate in pretending any differently, so she could not do the project. Her teacher protested at first, but she stood firm and even had her mom write a note saying that this project was against what she believed. He finally relented and allowed her to do a different project. I am SO proud of her!!! (At one point the teacher threatened to give her an "F" for not doing the project, and she said she would take that over idolatry. Woohoo!!).
Tomorrow night at Kids' Club we are talking about Jesus' death and resurrection (wonder why??) and I am pretty nervous about the lesson. I have no idea what I'm going to teach! :) After Kids' Club I'm having a bunch of the teens over for a sleepover (they are on Spring Break from school...and I have apparently decided that sleep is not a necessity). On Wednesday night we (meaning me and the teen girls) are heading to a friends' house for a Barbecue and a missionary from Kenya is going to talk to us about her life and faith (and she's a single female missionary...woohoo!!).
I'm really trying to get my newsletter finished this week as well. I had planned on getting it done last week, but my lack of computer was a big problem. I feel like I am really behind on so many things (because of my computer issues), and all of them will have to be caught up soon (including several weeks of work). So, I have a feeling that the next few weeks are going to be pretty busy, but I'm trying not to think too much about it and just go with the flow. Besides, while things are busy and so many discouraging things are happening, I KNOW that God is up to something amazing (isn't He always?!?!), so I definitely can't complain (or atleast, I shouldn't, haha). :)
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