What a great LAST week!

So many memories of this week...ahh...it has all been SO good! Sunday...going away party...good times...fun faces...good food! Lots of friends came to say good-bye and it was fun to see everyone and I got to meet the cutest puppy EVER! Let me just tell you that it has been one of my dreams for a LONG time to get a puppy and a Beagle at that! Well...my best friend..got a puppy...and a beagle at that! It is the cutest thing EVER!
Shine Time that night...good time...lots of fun and good memories...fun chats with some great people! TOO many fun random pictures...I won't bore you with those! Sunday night and Monday...I was feeling not so good...took lots of vitamins and prayed like crazy that I would feel better and by Tuesday I was doing better! YAY! Praise God! Sara came over Tuesday night we had breakfast for dinner...YUM YUM!! We started the very slow packing process!! Today...SYATP with my girls!!

Tonight...fun times....sweet youth rally at Bethel! Awesome to see some many teens pouring out their love to Jesus! Sweet youth group shirts and an AMAZING blanket from my small group girls!Sweet United shirt!

My awesome blanket!!!

All in all...an amazing last week with family and friends..a week that I won't forget..but is still overflowing with excitement for my up coming adventure!! Weather on Friday and Saturday...SUNNY!! What a great day for a LONG drive!! God is doing good things!

Tears...Memories...Footwashing...and Car Wreck chasing?!

I had my small group girls over for the last time before I leave on Saturday night. I started the night off with a very special foot washing. The girls and I first became a "small group", 2 summers ago at Last Blast, we did a foot washing that summer. So, I decided that doing another foot washing a year and a few months later would be like a closing book end on our time together! I had candles and worship music (our small group songs) and had all four girls sit on the chairs and I went around the circle and just washed their feet. I thanked them for allowing me to serve them. Through many tears we managed to go around and they told me how I had impacted their life and I went around and gave them each a piece of advice.


As we were finishing up the foot washing and were ready to just have a fun night now that we had gotten the tears out of the way. We headed upstairs and much to my surprise everyone was gone...but the doors were open...I was so confused. Come to find out...a car rolled in the ditch around the corner from our house. So we went and watched! The kid seemed to be okay...which was good..they put a neck brace on him..but that could just be as a precaution. As we were standing there watching..they got another call for an accident on the other corner from my house...holy cow...this never happens! So..my girls were like...lets go to that crash...so we jumped in the car and drove over there..that one wasn't as exciting, so we left shortly and went to get junk food at the store. Headed back to my house...ate..reminisced...and watched YouTube videos! LOL! We made a T-bell run at about 2 am or so...and came back...watched more videos and reminisced some more. About 4:30 am we finally crashed! Then we all overslept...OPPS! The night was good...fun memories...joy....tears...LOVE!

Sisters!

So, I am spoiled......by my sister....and her husband! Not only did they fill my gas tank last night, but tonight they took us all out to dinner before I leave. Then Sara and I went shopping and she bought me 2 pairs of shorts and a pair of sweatpants, oh, and she also bought me a frame that says: "Aunt: just like Mom, only cooler!" I'm feeling very loved right now...being very surrounded by friends and family, but knowing that God has big plans for me, and right now, they aren't in South Bend, IN. I have to spread my wings and fly.....so here's to new beginnings in Texas, and lots of memories in Indiana!

Whew!

What a day! It was a good day though! I was up until 4 in the morning...just feeling uneasy about talking and just not feeling prepared! Good thing I didn't have to get up early and slept until noon! Then finished putting the power point together and spent some good time praying and just asking God for strength, cause I knew it would be a hard day! Got to church got stuff finished up and set up, fought back tears on many occasions. Sue Stockman was asking if I needed her to do anything else and I had to fight back tears at the thought of this is the last Wed I will be here to do all this. Walking around turning on projectors...just everything...made me sad...but I told myself I was not allowed to cry until AFTER I spoke..I knew that I wouldn't make it ALL night as I knew John was praying over me and if my girls starting crying, I knew I wouldn't hold it together...but I at least had to make it through my message. As I was leaving to get dinner, I got a text from my sister asking if there was a CFA on the southside...they had come all the way from Grand Rapids to hear me speak! Got back to church about the same time they got there...got to show of the girls..always LOVE doing that! Spoiled them with some ice cream! Worship was just awesome..not sure if it was because for the first time in a year I wasn't doing the media shout, but man..it was just good..I needed it...fought back tears again on the song Enough...God truly is more than anything I need or want. Managed to get through my talk without tears and everyone said I did a good job. I spread a rumor at the beginning and made people think that John and Erin were pregnant and much to my surprise that rumor didn't get all over...pretty impressed! Anyway, spoke on gossip and the effects of it and how we can work on not gossiping! Then John got up and asked all the leaders to pray over me and I looked back and my girls were balling...uh oh...the tears flowed...there was no stopping them then...we had cake to celebrate me and send me off and I got lots of hugs! Sara and Paul went on a date and took my car and brought it back with a full tank of gas...it was on E...they spoil me too much sometimes! I am so grateful for all the people that love me so much! I now have a headache the size of Africa since I have been crying all night, so I am going to bed!

Giving God the Glory!

So...my days at Chick-fil-A are quickly coming to an end. And with that end in sight some of my employees have begun to ask many questions about where I'm going and what I am doing in Texas. Now all of these people know that I work for the church and that I'm a Christian, and they know not to cuss around me, but beyond that I try not to shove my faith down their throats. Anyway, tonight one of the girls at work began asking lots of questions about my trip and somehow we got on the topic of the Bible and she was like..I try to read the Bible, but I don't really get how it applies to me. So, I told her I would give her a book ("Bible Answers for Students" - pretty much it is just puts verses in categories such as gossip, appearance and so on) that would help her see verses that really did apply to her. I told her it would be my going away present to her...much to my surprise she was overly excited and actually jumped up and down. This just goes to show me that even though there were nights that I didn't feel like working at Chick-fil-A, that God had a bigger plan, way bigger than counting several hundred pennies a night, but to plant seeds in these people's lives. What an awesome God we serve!!!

Commissioning!

So...commissioning is done! I was rather nervous during first service, but things went VERY smoothly and got lots of compliments about how well I did! So...I was feeling confident for the second service...until Fergy comes up with this great idea...lets have your small group girls come and pray over you too! At first, I was excited, I love those girls and what better way than to have them up there with me as I embark upon this journey. That was until I got up there...and looked at these 4 amazing young woman of God...4 girls that have changed my life in the last year and a half, 4 girls that have become a part of my world, 4 girls that are Juniors in High School and on fire for God (sure they have drama and struggles...but they are teenagers). How could I ever leave these girls behind....so I fought back the tears...and managed to get my 3 minute speech out and didn't cry until after we left the sanctuary. Then we all embraced and cried together! The girls treated ME to lunch and we played in the rain....there was LOTS....and we watched a movie and just spent the afternoon together! It was great fun and lots of fun memories to leave with as I head to Texas in a week and a half.

My girls Summer 2007

Worship Night 2008



Megs and Kelc Summer 2007


Formal 2008

(I didn't take any pictures today...but thought I would throw up some old ones of these amazing girls!!!!)

3 weeks...AHHH!

In 3 weeks I will be on my way to Texas! It almost seems unreal to me that it is going to be happening so fast. I am super excited to be at YWAM and to let God speak to me and use me in amazing ways!!! The next few weeks will be busy...and I am sure that it will fly by.

• The rest of this weekend, we have my nieces and it is always a blast hanging out with them!!!
  
• Next Sunday the 14th, they are doing my commissioning at church.
  
• I am also teaching the tech team to run media shout that evening, since I will no longer be there to run that for them.
  
• I am speaking at youth group on Wednesday the 17th, my last regular Wed night (as the next Wed is SYATP Rally), on the topic of Gossip, the last of our 4 week series on Surviving School.
  
• I am finishing up my time at Chick fil A on Saturday the 20th.
  
• That night will also be the last hurrah with my amazing small groups girls. God has used me to mentor them, but I have also been blessed by them in a million ways!!! I am over-joyed at the amount of spiritual growth I have seen in them over the past year. At Last Blast this summer, during one of the amazing worship times, my 4 girls joined hands and in tears stepped out of the tent to pray with each other. More than anything in the world I wanted to go with them, to pray with them, to hug them, to love on them, but as I sat there God said...Emily...let them go..you have done your job...you brought them closer to me, now you have to let them live for me. You have to let go. I knew He was right, He always is!
• The 21st my parents are having an open house good-bye party for me that afternoon, as it is my last Sunday in Indiana.
  
• There is also Shine Time that evening at the Parkers!
  
• Most of that next week will be spent packing.....AHHH!
• That Wed I will most likey attend the SYATP Rally with my students, one last event with them.
• On either Thursday or Friday, probably Friday! I will leave for my 16 and a half hour drive to TX! I will stop one night at Purdue, to visit Sarah and Collin and as of now the plan is to drive the other 14 hours in one day...yes I know..long day...but I just don't like the idea of staying in a hotel all by myself...so I would rather leave at like 7 am and drive until 10 pm then have to stay by myself!
  

Wow...I knew it was all in my schedule, but seeing it all written down...wow...makes me see how much I am truly going to have to rely on God to get through these next few weeks. I am pumped to get there, but not looking forward to the good-byes! I love so many people here in good old Indiana and have learned so much from so many people. Thanks for your continued prayers as I embark upon this journey! I will be doing my best at updated this site regularly to keep you all filled in on the things the Lord is doing in my life!

Ben Stein's confession:

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning

Commentary.
My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrati ng this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the Americawe knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein