Kountry Korner

This past weekend Keith and I and Benjamin took a short drive up the road to see some good friends of ours from our time in Colorado Springs, the Pickens'. They moved to the east coast and since we happen to practically be neighbors, we decided it would be a shame if we didn't meet up for a good time of food and fellowship!

So Sunday after worship, we hopped in the car and made a short-long drive to Kountry Korner, the restaurant we had found to meet at. And it was difficult to find! But find it we did. And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. We didn't have a cell phone, and we didn't have our friends number, so we were stuck! But we waited and persevered and then.... they arrived! They had been stuck in horrible traffic on the way there and since we didn't have a cell phone... you get the idea!

We had already ordered some sweet tea and onion rings (with ranch for dipping, of course) and were just hanging out. It was so wonderful to see our friends and there adorable little boy. It was also good to catch up on life and all the exciting new developments in our lives. :o)

Enjoy the few pictures from the occassion! Good to see you Danny and Katrina and Bradley!

Benjamin at Preschool

Here is an update we received (including pictures) from Ms. Marlene, Benjamin's Preschool teacher:


"Hello family and friends of Benjamin…I’m Ms. Marlene, Benjamin’s teacher here at ILC. His mommy & daddy are kept pretty busy here so I have the PRIVILEGE of playing a big part in his ILC experience. I thought you might enjoy getting a glimpse into our day!

"From day one, Benjamin has come in ready to experience all we have to offer in the way of FUN, he hardly fusses or cries at all when he is left in the mornings. Some of his favorite things to do in our classroom are throw balls, knock over “block towers” before we can get them built very high, read books and pop the bubbles from the bubble blower (Ms. Marlene’s FAVORITE thing in our room)!! Outside on the playground Benjamin likes to swing, slide and practice walking by holding on and pushing our push toys around. Another outside activity we do that is AWESOME is the bye-bye buggy. It’s a big red buggy that holds 6 kids, so the kids get to go all over our beautiful campus seeing God’s beautiful world.

"We have a morning snack and lunch at “school” each day and the coolest thing about that is the table in which Benjamin and his friends sit. He seems to enjoy snack everyday and lunch some days…but even if we can’t get him to eat much at lunch, yogurt seems to be the favorite of ALL the one year olds. Believe it or not, we are able to have a group time with these 14 little ones as long as we don’t hesitate too long between songs…Benjamin has really been smiling and clapping along with us this week as we sing each day.

"After lunch each day, we have a “winding down” time where the kids watch a sing-along type video with 2 of the teachers while the other 2 teachers are changing diapers then between 12:30 and 12:45, we get these 14 little ones to sleep, 8 of them are in cribs and 6 are on cots…Benjamin is in a crib. I would venture to say that naptime is his least favorite time of the day, he does his share of fussing but those of us who work in this room can be more stubborn than him and we win every day…he does go to sleep but I think he must dream of all the fun things to do because he is the first one up nearly every day (after about 1 to 1 ½ hours)and we usually take him out to the playground so that his friends can continue sleeping, although several friends will join him as they wake up.


"On a personal note, I want to thank you for praying for Benjamin and his family. My job is so rewarding working with families like the Ferguson’s but I can promise you that our adversary, the devil, doesn’t like what goes on here at ILC so as you pray for them, please also pray for us that we would bring honor to the Lord and His kingdom as we serve these children and their families!"


We are so blessed by the ministry of Ms. Marlene and all the wonderful ladies at the Preschool! Thanks ladies for all that you do!

A Word About Sleep

So, I am a fan of sleep. You might even say I love it. Yup, that's right. But you see, there is a problem with that, especially when I choose sleep over God. It seems a silly thing really, when you put it in such simple terms, but that it was He showed me today (I might add after I slept in, missing quiet time with him, and having a generally not good morning).I have been reading through the book of Acts and was supposed to be reading chapter 17, but I really wanted to read chapter 16 again. As I was reading, verse 25 jumped out at me:

"But about midnight Paul and Silas were
praying and singing hymns of praise to God,
and the prisoners were listening to them."

Now, usually when I have read that verse, I marvel at their ability to praise God when things are not going great, but something different hit me this morning; I noticed what time it was. It was midnight!! I was thinking, "Man, what about sleep?!" They had had a long day, weren't they tired? Probably. But they had caught on to something that I had been missing the past little bit: God satisfies the body more than sleep. In fact, He alone satisfies!

I was convicted about my attitude and knew God had more to say, so being far away from a computer and my giant Strong's Concordance, I resorted to the back of the Bible and looked up "sleep." I found Proverbs 20:13 which reads:

"Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;
open your eyes and you will be satisfied with food."

On first glance, this verse can be taken very literally, but the Lord had more for me, particularly the last part of the verse. The Lord was calling to me saying, "Open your eyes! Get out of bed! I satisfy you more than sleep! Arise and be satisfied by me, the bread of life!" This verse is now posted up by my bed so every morning I can be reminded of this promise. The interesting part of all of this, is that I knew that the Lord wanted this for me, yet I didn't have something tangible in his word I could go to. Now I have a promise that is written right there in black and white for me to hang on to and be accountable for.

Another verse the Lord showed me regarding this topic was Psalm 59:14-16 which reads:

"They return at evening, they howl like a dog,
and go around the city.
They wander about for food
and growl if they are not satisfied.
But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength;
Yes I shall joyfully sing of Your mercy in the morning,
For You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the
days of my distress."

How often do I return to God at night, "growling" in a bad mood when I haven't been faithful to go to Him and be satisfied in the morning? More times than I would care to admit, that's for sure! When we I am not satisfied by Jesus in the morning, my day usually ends up like the Psalm; wandering around for something to satisfy me, growling and being generally dissatisfied; understandably so! Contrast David who proclaims, "But as for me... I shall joyfully sing of Your mercy in the morning!" Amen! This scripture is also posted by my bed as a reminder...

I hope that this speaks to y'all and encourages you as the Lord admonished and encouraged me.

"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.' "
~John 6:35

New Benjamin Pictures

Our little world traveller!

Cheese!

Walking

What?

Hey Mom, guess what I'm eating!

Greetings from the East Coast!

Well, for all of those wondering where we are, we have made it to training and have been in class for about a week! We love being settled and not living out of a suitcase, and Benjamin quickly settled into a routine here and at school (while we are in class, he goes to preschool- loves it!). We also aren't minding the cooler weather (lows in the upper 60's and highs in the 80's)!

At first things were a little overwhelming, a lot of new information and deadlines, but calm has once again settled. We are enjoying the material and feel very blessed to have so much information at our fingertips.

I have been feeling a little under the weather the past few days with a summer cold, but I am hoping to feel better soon!

Some fun new things with Benjamin: He loves to help turn on and off the light switches, is walking more and more now, and loves to show everyone that he is one-year-old (holds up one finger). He is getting much better about showing us what he wants by pointing and loves to look at pictures of animals and the sounds they make.

That is all for now, thanks for reading!

Look Mom, I'm a Rock Star!

(Hairstyle courtesy of Salon de Uncle Jo Jo)

Goodbye Dear Friend...

Through thick and thin,
Through sun and storm,
You have long been with me,
Always keeping your form.

From the top of Mt. Whitney,
To the river valley of the Frio,
You've been close to my heart,
For no one else, solo mio.

But now the time has come,
To watch you move on,
Goodbye, my faithful Baylor hat,
Live on forever, with the dawn...