Mission Trip 2013

This year, our youth group went to Mescalero, New Mexico for our mission trip.  We worked on homes in the Apache Indian Reservation.

 The girls got to be in one vehicle!

Visited a Pistachio farm

 and also went to see ancient petroglyphs.

Sara and I 

Had a great time with these girls!

A before/after shot of the house my group painted.

The group of students I worked with and the resident and her grandchildren.

 This is Viola...

a very wise lady and so very grateful.

I learned how to use a caulk gun! 

Watch out!

Auction

We had our annual auction at church on Sunday evening.  This is our only fundraiser for our youth group.  It's a fun night and these guys certainly did their part in making it entertaining!

Giant Swing and Zip Line

Addison on the giant swing at junior high camp

and the zip line.

Travis and I are on the far side going down with her.

Junior High Camp

Junior High Camp was at the end of June at New Life Ranch.

Travis was the speaker at camp this summer, so Addison and I got to go with him!

It was fun to have her there with us.

 

She loved the junior high kids,

loved the triple bunk bed and sleeping at the top,

(the tooth fairy even visited her at camp, all the way up on the 3rd bunk!)

loved the band, the loud music and the singing,

loved going swimming everyday and loved going canoeing.

But I think she loved the ropes course the best!

She did the giant swing once and the zip line twice.

I was amazed at how brave she was...wasn't scared at all.

It was a lot of fun for Travis and I to both go down the zip line with her!

I may or may not have been more nervous and scared than her!!

One of the Best Gifts...

This afternoon, I was outside, and two 7th grade girls from our church came over to talk to me.  They told me they were listening in church last week and heard them talking about Travis...how he is a youth pastor and has been doing a lot of the senior pastor duties also.  They said they realized that because he has so much responsibility right now he probably doesn't have much time for a social life!  Ha!  So, as a Christmas gift for us, they want to babysit for us sometime over Christmas break.  I almost laughed when they said that about his social life, but then I wanted to cry when they told me about the babysitting.  If only they understood how much that means to me, to have a break from my kids to spend some time with my husband.  What a sweet and thoughtful gift...probably one of the best gifts you can give a mother with young kids!  I hope my girls will be this thoughtful someday when they're older and I wish now that I would've understood this when I was younger. 

The Best (and Most Overlooked) Way to Prepare Our Home for Guests

I came across an article last night that really made me think.  It had to do with how we prepare our homes for guests.  I am one who likes my house to be in order and fairly clean, especially when having company.  Having kids has helped me loosen up a lot though!  We love having people into our home and always want them to feel comfortable and welcome.  I used to stress out a lot about cleaning and cooking when having people over.  I don't stress much about it anymore, but I still like to spend time preparing before they come.  When I read the following, I was challenged to prepare differently before people come into my home.

When we try to make everything perfect and impress our guests, their visit becomes all about us.  When we lay down our pride, pray for them and serve them in the ways that THEY need, their visit is about them and THAT’s what makes people feel loved and at home.

I am challenged to lay down my pride about what my house looks like and serve my guests in a way that makes them feel loved and meets their needs.  I want them to feel at home.

If you'd like to read the entire article, you can click on this link.
The Best (and Most Overlooked) Way to Prepare Our Home for Guests

You Are More

This past week was one that left me feeling sad. Saddened for some of the youth we work with. Sad for the things they deal with on a daily basis. Sad for the mistakes they've made. But rejoicing in the fact that Christ forgives us and through Him we are remade. It is hard sometimes to sit and watch them fall but it is awesome to have the opportunity to help them get back up and to tell them they are forgiven.

I love this song by Tenth Avenue North. Whenever I hear it, I think of all the dumb things I've done...the bad choices I've made, sins committed...and I'm so thankful I've have been remade through Christ!

"You are more than the choices that you've made, you are more than the sum of your past mistakes, you are more than the problems you create, you've been remade."

Colossians

"So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."

Colossians 3:12-17 (NASB)

Our church recently spent the last 6 days involved with Peacemaker Ministries.  It was a good weekend and I was challenged personally in the way I work through conflict.  Our (every individual in the church) assignment is to read through Colossians 3 every morning and before bed each day until they come back at the beginning of February.  Throughout each day, there are different things we are supposed to do, one of which is to meditate on the verses above.  I personally am going to try to memorize the verses above!  I'm excited to see how God will work in our church and pray that hearts will be changed.

Former Youth

We had visitors last week.
Ashley and Jared were in our youth group in Oregon.
They are brother and sister.
It's weird that they're adults now...makes me feel old.
It was great to spend time with them both again!
We were up really late every night.
We played lots of Monopoly Deal...love that game!
We talked about life as adults in the real world.
And I ate way too much!
Addison loves both of them and loved the extra attention!
Had a great time reminiscing about old times.
Thanks Ashley and Jared for making us feel young again!

Auction

Last night we had our auction at church to raise money for our youth group.  Travis gathers donations from local businesses and people in the church and we have a silent and oral auction.  There were a wide variety of items on the silent auction...decorations, jewelry, homemade baked goods, a pool table, TV's and a refrigerator.  The oral auction has lots of fun stuff put together in packages as well as some bigger items...a quilt, hand crafted rocking horse, an IPOD Touch, a golf package, an airplane ride, and many homemade meals.  We served homemade ice cream and cake/brownies.  Travis counted last night and this is the eigth auction he has done.  We did 4 at our first church, 2 at our last church and this is the 2nd one here.  It's always a lot of fun!

Travis' dad was an auctioneer, so Travis went to lots of auctions growing up.  He's not a professional and I know I'm biased, but I think he does pretty good!  And check out the callers, Todd and Adam.  They really get into it and were hilarious to watch!

Crazy Youth

Our first youth group gathering of the school year was on Wednesday.  We had a huge slip-n-slide, some human bowling and one crazy kid who decided to ride down the hill in a huge tractor tire.  It was a lot of fun!

Handing Out Bulletins

Our pastor goes to the local retirement home every Thursday afternoon and delivers the church bulletin to church members who live there. Some of them are no longer able to come to church each week and some of them do come but like to get their bulletins hot off the press! A few weeks ago he was gone and asked Travis if he could deliver them for him. Travis agreed and thought this would be a great activity for Addison to help him with. She loved it! Travis asked him if they could do this once a month and they got to go again this week. Not only is it good for her to go visit some of the older people and learn about serving others, but it's also a great opportunity to spend some time with her dad. She loved talking to the people and they came home with all sorts of stories.

Right now it's pretty easy to incorporate our kids into the various aspects of ministry we are involved in. Addison loves church and thinks it's fun. I'm sure this will get harder as they grow up, but we hope to continue to involve them as much as possible. Giving them opportunities to serve in the church in areas they enjoy and have a passion for will be key when they are older.

The Big, Bad Wolf Isn't So Bad

The following is an article Travis wrote in our January newsletter at church.

Every night for the last week or two Addison has wanted me to tell her the
same story before she goes to sleep. I love talking with her right before
she goes to sleep and reading a book, or telling her a story, or praying with
her....but come on, you've gotta give me a break on telling the same story every
night! I don't even know why it started, but for some reason she wants to hear
"The Three Little Pigs" repeated over and over. It's kind of a fun story
to tell once in awhile, but 14 nights in a row is quite a bit, and there's no
foreseeable end. Last night she asked for it again. I told her it
was her turn to tell me the story. She said, "Okay, I think I know how it
goes." She proceeded to tell me the story with several variations I had
never even thought of. My version always had the "big, bad wolf" being big
and bad with no hope for redemption. Addison's version went like
this:
Wolf: "Little pig, little pig let me in."
Pig: "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin."
All sounds normal right? But then she added that the pig also said
"We won't let you in unless you promise not to huff." So if the wolf
would be nice, Addison thought he should be able to come in. I never left
room for the wolf to come inside, I didn't care for the wolf, he's the villain
after all! Addison thought maybe the big, bad wolf wasn't so bad if he
would just stop all his huffing and puffing.

We all have people in our lives that we leave little room for. People
we simply don't get along with or care for as much as others. Maybe
they're needy people, maybe they're rude people, maybe they're annoying
people...I've been accused of being all three. In fact Pastor Brad called
me one of those three just yesterday. We see certain people with virtually
no chance at redemption....after all they're the outcasts or the villains in our
lives! We have no intention of getting to know them better, or of letting
them into our lives anymore than they already are. Addison reminded me
that everyone, even the big, bad wolf has an equal shot at redemption.
Jesus showed us how to treat the big, bad wolf as He gathered with His disciples
for the Last Supper. John 13 says they were all together, and to start the
meal Jesus bent down and proceeded to wash the disciples' feet. It seems
clear the He washed ALL the disciples' feet. Even Judas...even the
villain. Right before His betrayal, Jesus still was a humble servant
towards His betrayer.

The holidays are almost over for another year. Are you having some
family problems? Someone getting on your nerves at work? Some pastor
being annoying? Maybe it's time to talk something out? Maybe it's
time to make a hard phone call? Maybe it's time to forgive? Maybe
it's time to see value in someone that you have viewed as worthless? Maybe
it's time to let that person back in, instead of saying "not by the hair of my
chinny chin chin." God sees value in all of us. I am amazed that He
does.

10 Things We Love About Our Pastor

Did you know that October is Pastor Appreciation month? Travis is always so blessed by the many people that send him cards and offer him words of encouragement and appreciation. I thought I would share with you some of the things we love about our pastor.

1. He loves God.
2. He loves people.
3. He says it how it is, no fluff.
4. He's real.
5. He likes to have fun.
6. He's willing to deal with the hard issues.
7. He's honest.
8. He has a great wife!
9. He is a man of integrity.
10. He puts up with Travis!!

What do you appreciate about your pastor? Have you told him lately?

Random Thoughts

What's the deal lately with people having outbursts and absolutely no regard for other people? It seems as if they think they can say whatever they want to whomever they want? You've got the congressman who called President Obama a liar during his speech. Then you have Michael Jordan who uses his speech at the Hall of Fame induction to glorify himself and "put others in their place." Serena Williams cusses out the line judge during the U.S. Open and Kanye West steals the microphone from another singer during her acceptance speech. It disappoints me to see anyone treat others this way. I certainly hope my daughters don't look up to people like this someday when they're older.

On another note, last night at our high school Bible study, we talked about hell. Does hell really exist? We watched a clip from "Faith Under Fire" with Lee Strobel called "Hell: Fact or Fiction." The episode consists of two Christians debating the topic. We had great discussion! The kids were asking lots of questions and it was so interesting to hear their thoughts. Our goal is to get them thinking about what they believe and why they believe it. They probably left with more questions than answers! Hopefully they went home and discussed it more with their parents or actually did some research of their own on the topic.

Feel the Love

Yesterday, Travis went to the middle school to eat lunch with the kids there. He sat down next to a kid from our youth group who he hasn't seen in a couple of months. The first thing the kid says to him is, "Next summer at camp, I'm gonna pick you up and throw you over the balcony." If only you could see this kid...he's about 75 pounds and 4 feet tall. Travis was pretty scared!!

MBY Barbecue

The school year is coming to an end which means that youth group is also. We ended the year with a barbecue at our house last night. There were between 40-50 kids here, plus 14 adults and 6 little kids. It was a full house! And since it's been raining so much, the youth were inside most of the time. We watched a video that Travis made and in the picture below, you can see us all crammed into our back room watching it. We had a great time and can hardly believe our first year here is already over!

Anyone Need Any Post-It Notes?

Today is Travis' birthday and he is now 32! He felt very loved when he opened his office door this morning and found everything covered in post-it notes. We couldn't believe how many there were! It must've taken them awhile! Addison and I went to church to eat some birthday cake with him and when she walked into his office she said, "Daddy you made a mess and you need to clean it up!" She actually enjoyed helping him take some of them down (this kept her entertained for quite awhile).

Leader's Retreat

This weekend we had a planning retreat with the junior and senior high youth leaders. We met on Saturday morning, spent the night at a hotel and came home this afternoon. There are seven junior high leaders and twelve senior high leaders and they are all married couples. It was a great opportunity for Travis and I to get to know them better and to find out what a typical school year looks like. We spent the morning and afternoon talking about the vision of the group and planning out all the events and activities for the school year. I worked with the senior high leaders and Travis floated between the two groups. In the evening, we played a game together called Compatibility. If you haven't ever played it, it's a great couples group game. You really find out a lot about people and how well they know each other. We also went and played miniature golf. I didn't do so great, but it was still fun! We're excited for the school year to start so we can start having regular youth events and activities which will help us to get to know the youth.

An Interesting Start

Travis started his new job on Monday. On Sunday night, we had some really bad storms roll through all night long. On his way to work Monday morning, Paul (the associate pastor) called and said he should come into town a different way because the road was closed due to downed power lines. He also said the whole town was without power. Apparently they got hit by the storm worse than we did. So, when he got to the church, they unloaded all his boxes and then he and Paul went and drove around town looking at all the storm damage. They didn't have any power, so he went and ate lunch at Paul's house and then came home early. Tuesday morning, Paul and his wife and little boy drove over here to our house because they were still without power. This gave Travis the opportunity to talk with him about church related stuff and to ask all sorts of questions. The power finally came back on around noon on Tuesday, so he drove over there in the afternoon to get his office organized. Things were finally back to normal on Wednesday. It was an interesting start to the week; no power and the senior pastor was on vacation all week!