Jenny and Jack

My brother is engaged to a wonderful woman.  They are both performers so for the past year or so they have been in separate shows traveling all over the world.  Jack came home in May from the National Tour of the musical "Gypsy", but Jenny was still on The Royal Caribbean Cruise as a dancer/performer.  She came home on Sunday and it was so good to see them together again.  They are getting married in October so they will both be home until the wedding, then they will be moving to NYC.  It's exciting and really nice to be so fond of Jenny and her family. It's not always easy uniting two families, but it's been a blessing getting to know Jenny and her family while planning this wonderful occasion.  

There are a lot of big changes happening in our family within the next couple months and it's weird to be in transition zone.  Everyone is trying to enjoy the moments we have together, but there are fears and anxieties along with the sadness that we are beginning to feel knowing that some of us are moving away.  It's in times like these when we need to remember that everyday is a gift and we need to enjoy it.  It doesn't help to focus solely on the future and the changes ahead because then we will miss out on the wonderful memories that fill each day.  

Jeremiah 29:11

"'For I know the plans I have you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" ~Jeremiah 29:11

My dad has read that verse to me and reminded me of it for as long as I can remember and I've prayed through it and pondered the promises that are in that statement numerous times. However, the reality of that verse has truly come alive to me in the past couple of days.  I applied to be a Protege at National Community Church (in Washington, DC).  I was really excited when I heard about the opportunity to go there and learn from the leaders of that church and the various things that they are doing in that community, but I was just praying that God's will would be done.  Most interesting to me is their use of a coffee house for ministry, it's called Ebenezers. If any of you actually know me, you know that combining coffee and God really speaks to my heart.  Anyway, this is the first year the Protege Program is being offered and it comes at a great time because I just graduated from college. Actually, before I graduated people were asking me about my future plans and for some reason my response would be "I don't know, really...who knows, I might end up in Washington".  I guess God laid this on my heart before I even really knew it was a possibility!  

Well, today I found out that I will be moving to Washington, DC and start on this awesome journey in the beginning of September as a Protege of NCC. More specifically, my focus of ministry will be Ebenezers Coffeehouse!! :) God truly does have it all figured out and we just have to be faithful to his leading in our lives.  God planned this for my life and gave me the heart and opportunity to pursue it.  I'm so blessed and really excited to be a part of the National Community Church team.  

The reality is that a year ago I never imagined that I would be moving to Washington, DC...God doesn't lie, His plans are far greater than we can ever imagine. He promises not only that He knows the plans for our future, but that they are good plans.  This experience is just another example of God's faithfulness and awesome sovereignty.  I'm continuously blown away!

WASHINGTON, HERE I COME! :)

Here and Now

                                                          

I was two years old when my mom's mom passed away, but my mom tells me that the week before she passed away she heard the song "Here and Now" by Luther Vandross every day as soon as she got in the car.   Every time anyone in my family hears that song we think of grandma.  It always seems to come on in times when we need comfort.  

Well, for the past three nights "Here and Now" has been on the radio as soon as I get in bed before I fall asleep.  I have been going to bed at different times too so it's not just the time of night.  I feel comforted by this song and have been praying for the Bisnett family at my church and specifically little baby Giana when I hear the song (the little baby girl with spina bifida I wrote about in my last post). I know that there is comfort even in times of suffering and I just feel God's arms reaching out when I think about my grandma and the song that reminds us of her love.  Just as the song talks of promises, it reminds me of God's promises.  Not only is my grandma with me in my heart during difficult times, but God is with us and for that I am extremely thankful!

So, this song is for you baby Giana...get better soon.  There are a lot of people cheering for you! 

we are family...

“...All of the people around us, they say
Can they be that close?
Just let me state for the record,
we’re giving love in a family dose...“

There are two families in my church that are dealing with some pretty heavy stuff. Yesterday each family was scheduled for major surgery on their new born babies in the same hospital. One family was facing surgery on their recently born baby boy who is having trouble breathing. The other family was facing a c-section to deliver a baby girl who would then need serious surgery in hopes to correct the spina-bifida she has. We have been praying for these families for awhile now and it seemed like everyone in the church was united in prayer throughout the day. I got a call last night from my pastor’s wife asking me to come babysit their two children so that they could go up to the hospital to be with the mother who just delivered her baby girl. I went right over and they didn’t get back until close to 1am. The doctors found out that her lungs are underdeveloped and she is missing some ribs. They are concerned with her inability to breathe on her own and are trying to address that before they even deal with her spine. This was not great news and I know that the family is really hurting right now. It’s amazing, though, how a church family comes together in times like this. People are on schedule for cooking for these families and signing up for baby-sitting duty for their other children. This week is also VBS so people were over there early to help get everything ready knowing that people are concerned with what is happening at the hospital. I’m so blessed to have people in my church that really do come together as family. Of course there are always misunderstandings and moments of disagreements, but in times like these the true color of a family shows. The ability to stand strong and each play a part while thinking of the good of those in need is an amazing thing to see. Praise God for a family of believers that is committed to each other in love and praise God for the families that are looking to Him even in this difficult time.

If you are part of this family of believers, wherever you are around the world, please send up a prayer for these two families. There is still a lot ahead of them and I know we can have faith that God is in control. Thanks for your prayers!

"Wow, they were right"

Yesterday I went to see the movie “The Journey to the Center of the Earth”. I wasn’t expecting much, but it was actually a really great movie. The part that sticks out the most to me is when the characters discover that the stories they heard and doubted were actually true. The character that Brendon Fraser plays says “They were right...they believed in something even when everyone called them crazy and it was the truth!” IT was such a cool moment to see on the screen and it made me think about faith in Jesus Christ. Often times people are called crazy for believing in such an outrageous story or it is just reduced to a story that makes people feel better, but in the end there will be people saying “Wow, they were actually right!” It really hit me and made me excited for that day because in my heart I know that no matter how many people say I’m building my life on something that can’t be real there will be a day when I’ll feel like Brendon Fraser, rejoicing over the reality of what others called a story.

Not sure that’s the parallel the producer was aiming for, but it sure made me smile.

life long friends

This weekend my parents friends came to visit.  They met them when my dad was going to law school and my mom was working in Virginia.  They haven't seen each other in twenty years and watching them together is like no time passed at all.  We took them to Park Avenue and went to some shops there and then we had an exciting adventure to Wegmans.  I couldn't believe that they had never been to Wegmans, but then I realized that while I go to Wegmans on a daily basis it is not everywhere.  We took them to the beach and to the famous ice cream place inRochester--Abbott's.  It has been such a great time and I've enjoyed getting to know their life long friends.  It's amazing that twenty years can go by, but they can pick up right where they left off.  What a blessing to have friends like that.  It started me thinking...who will be my David and Susan?  I look forward to growing up and getting together for reunions that feel like no time has gone by.  To not really speak to people in twenty years and be so friendly is truly an example of what it means to have a meaningful relationship that represents true love.

catching up on the porch!

Susan and my mom at the mall  :)

Smalltown Poets - Lay It Down

Smalltown Poets - Lay It Down

I held the day

Above the night for you, love

To see you lift your eyes up

To see you smile again

Your heavy heart 

Looks for a sanctuary

From all the hurt you carry

Into another day

The sun is rising

My love, lay it down

You're born to shine

Along the way of heaven

To find you've been forgiven

To know it works that way

So they were right

And pride is hard to let go

Would you believe I said so

And put it on the line

The sun is rising

Your confession won't surprise me

Love, lay it down

My love, lay it down

Oh let it all

Come down on my love

Just as sure as the sun is rising

Your confession won't surprise me

Lay it down on my love

Lay it down

Love, hear the truth

I have joy to give you

I'll make everything new

Trust me so let it go

I have far better plans

Than this moment demands

I'll take care of you, one of my own

My own

and I don't want to miss a thing

Lately I have been missing people and realizing just how amazing that feeling is. Years ago before I left for college my best friend told me that he was excited to miss me. At first I really didn’t understand what he meant, but he explained that one of his favorite feelings is missing someone because it reminds him of how much that person means to him. In looking at it that way, it is nice to miss people and be so directly confronted with the feeling of love. If you’ve ever been away from people that you hold dear to your heart you understand the feeling I’m talking about. It’s like you can feel the weight of your heart in your chest and your stomach reminds you that you are uneasy. It’s not that I’m lonely...I am surrounded by people that I love, but knowing that I will not be moving back to Geneseo is beginning to cause me to feel the pains of missing people more than I thought I would. I grew so comfortable being around the same people all the time and I long for that time I used to take for granted. Being away for the summer is one thing, but thinking about not going back and possibly moving farther away is making me realize more how much I love them and what a blessing it is to have friends that make me not want to miss a thing.

Josh Hamilton

So, last night I was watching the home run derby with my brother and a guy named Josh Hamilton comes up to hit his first round. I knew his name and I had seen him before, but his story is one that is truly a testament to the power, love and reality of God. Read about his story. 

While I was watching him hit the record breaking 28 home runs in his first round I looked at my brother and said “this guy is awesome”. My brother told me that he had struggled with an addiction with drugs and was out of baseball for three years, but he found Christ. Right then I was intrigued and watched how he swung the bat and continuously hit the balls with power and joy. As he was being interviewed he explained that in 2005 he had a dream that he was at the Home Run Derby in Yankee Stadium (which, by the way, the Home Run Derby is never in Yankee Stadium and it is the last year that it will be the “old” Yankee Stadium because they are building a new one) Anyway, that is the dream that got him thinking that there was more to his life than his drug addiction and he began to change. He found Christ and last night he gave all the glory back to God for his record breaking performance. It was amazing. People were cheering for him and when asked how he felt he could only respond that it was more amazing than he ever imagined, but that it’s all because of his savior Jesus Christ. WOW! I was almost in tears. He is a witness to all of the people on his team and everyone watching him play. He was not ashamed to tell the world that God brought him out of his addiction, God brought him to that stadium and God gave him the strength to hit that many home runs.

I was blessed watching him!

I can see clearly now the rain is gone....

I got new glasses today. I’ve had glasses for awhile in order to see far away, but I don’t really wear them. So, I got new glasses today and I will be wearing them a lot because after wearing them today I realized that everything has always been blurry and I just pretend I can see it clearly. Glasses are amazing. I don’t know exactly how they work, but I didn’t know the world was this sharp until I spent an entire day wearing glasses.

perspective change!

So, I have heard different messages on Matthew 20:1-16 (The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard) and I’ve been in Bible studies focusing on this passage, but today I was brought to a whole new understanding of the parable and what it means for me. I love it when this happens.

My Pastor taught on this parable today and encouraged us to go beyond what is normally associated with the passage which is salvation. He paralleled it with the Prodigal Son story and made an observation that we often associate with the “older son” or the workers that were hired early in the morning. We compare ourselves to others and we often fall in this category. What if we identified with the Prodigal Son or the workers hired late in the day? Well, the perspective changes for me. The workers that were hired first come to believe that the landowner NEEDS them, but those that came late come to believe that the landowner WANTS them. God wants us, God calls us to come to him and our response should be “WOW, I can’t believe you want me to come with you...what can I do?” The workers didn’t think twice, they trusted the landowner and were overwhelmed by the opportunity to serve. They had been doing nothing because no one would hire them. In the last hour, the landowner hired more hands to do fewer work...most people would say that is a waste of money. However, the landowner wasn’t worried about what other people thought, he cared about the workers. In the same way, God’s plans are not always easy to understand because it isn’t rational to us, but God’s eyes are not focused on what makes sense in the eyes of men he just wants to take care of his children. I can only be grateful because whatever God has planned for my life is not about what I’ve done to deserve it, but about who God is and what is best for me--no matter how irrational it seems to other people or myself

I’m excited to be called and I pray that my response is always “ok, God, what do you have for me to do next...”

Bailey...a blessing from God!

*Once upon a time there was a girl named Erin who fell in love with a tiny puppy named Bailey and they lived happily ever after...*

Seriously, the day after graduation my family brought home a puppy Boston Terrier named Bailey! She is the most precious thing ever and I love her to death. Every time I look at her I am amazed at how God creates such beauty! It’s all around us, but even a little puppy has the ability to put a smile on the most angry person. Bailey is a blessing from God, a reminder that He is in control of it all and how glad I am that that is the case. She understands so much and has figured out the different personalities in my family, acting differently around each of us. I love it and I can’t help but thank God every time I look at her! Truly, God is great!

Happy

Happy Fourth of July!

Today my family celebrated the day differently than usual. Our family has a big party every year and we typically go, but this year we got all the way there and decided not to go in. I know that’s kind of weird and we felt a little guilty about it, but there were so many people in the neighborhood having parties that it was just crazy and we just turned around. We went to Famous Dave’s BBQ and had a nice dinner together and then went to a movie. We were basically the only people in the theatre (notice my brother and dad to the left sitting in an empty theatre). As we were driving home we finally found out which one of our neighbors always does the fireworks in the backyard and we pulled on the side of the road to watch them...they were really good this year. Usually we can’t tell who is putting them off, but we discovered the location this year. Much to our surprise, three other families started putting on

fireworks as well so we drove the rest of the way home and watched them from our deck.

I am now in my pajamas hanging in the family room with my family. We made coffee and brownies are in the oven. We’re making our own brownie sundaes and enjoying the rest of Independence Day. While we didn’t celebrate in typical fashion, it was a much needed day with my family. I feel blessed for the sacrifices people have made in order for us to be able to have this time together and I feel blessed that I have a family to spend the day with. I saw a woman as we were leaving the movie that had been there alone. It really broke my heart. I mean, I’m sure she enjoyed the film, but it made me wonder why she was alone on a day people usually spend with family and friends. It made me realize how truly blessed I am and that every second with my family is a gift from God.

What a day! Freedom is a beautiful thing and I celebrate all those that made the independence we enjoy today possible!

I broke up with facebook this morning

 I’m kind of relieved to be officially DONE with facebook, but I’m sad it had to end this way.  I liked facebook when I first got an account, but now there are really no boundaries and it has turned into an internet dating service for some people. WEIRD!  After blocking people and getting awkward messages, I decided to end things with facebook!  

I’ll still be blogging though, probably more now that I have so much time on my hands without facebook drama.