Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
unrequited love
So friends, please pray for us and for God's glory to be shown through all of this. Both of us are pretty strong about all of this, but there are definitely jumpy moments when we hear things and notice that we are a little more on edge than we thought we were. There will be moments when it will be easy to let fear get the best of us, and I really covet your prayers in this area! There's not much that's more personal than your home... I keep thinking about the fact that people were here... in my bedroom! I have to make a conscious effort not to let those thoughts get the best of me.
I think it is very interesting that JD's sermon on Sunday covered the topic of fear. The sermon was based off of Psalm 27. The first point JD made was to acknowledge your fears - to realize that bad things might happen. The second point was to use your fears to be a messenger to show what we care most about. The one thing David (the writer of the Psalm) wanted was to see God's face. This is what Leanne and I want - we want to seek and know God more though this. Also, JD made the point that David did not feel victimized, even though in the world's eyes he had the right to! Leanne and I could feel like victims... our home was broken into and valuables were taken. More than the valuables, our sense of security was robbed. But you know what?? The Bible says to consider it pure joy when we face trials of any kind (James 1:2)! So praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Leanne and I truly believe that we are whole heatedly seeking God in our lives right now, and if this is what happens as a result, well then... bring it on!
Well, I need to be getting some sleep. "I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me." Psalm 3:5
Monday, November 19, 2007
More Home Repairs!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
a long lost love...
I know... I know... it's been forever since I have updated. There's a lot I could write about, but to spare you, I'll focus on one thing for now. Last month I rediscovered a long lost love.... CAMPING! Since October, I have been camping 3 times - once with a friend, then with my family, and then we went camping for Leanne's birthday! Too bad this love was rediscovered as the weather is finally turning cold! There's just something awesome about getting out of the house... away from television, computers, and radios... away from NOISE! (well, unless you go with a lot of friends like the last time I went) Don't get me wrong - I very much enjoy the comforts of home and my comfy bed! But every once in a while it does a body and soul good to get away from these comforts and spend time outside in God's beautiful creation! And nothing can replace the cozy feeling of being around a campfire with special people. :) Hopefully I will go camping many more times in the future!
I plan to update more in the near future... I promise!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
something to remember when I'm a "seasoned" teacher
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Mi escuela nueva!
Ok, so after enough "encouragement" from my mother, I'm finally going to update you all on what's new in the life of Bonnie B! The biggest news is that I am finally teaching in Durham Public Schools. Since college (4 years ago!) I have wanted to teach in Durham. My whole vision when I came home from South Africa (gosh... almost 2 years ago now) was to "be" in Durham... live in Durham, work in Durham, and go to church in Durham. I always thought it was more difficult to invite people to come to church when it was pretty far away! By the grace of God, and in His true fashion "just in time," I got a call from the pre-k coordinator in Durham Public Schools. She called me the Sunday before I was to start teacher workdays for Orange County! It was a crazy, whirl-wind week, with me changing my mind every other day about what I wanted to do, but in the end, I knew it was finally my time to teach in Durham. There are some perks to Orange County's program that I will miss, like shorter days for the kids, a bilingual teacher in the room, and 3 adults in each classroom. I'm having to brush up on my Spanish, but yesterday I learned that I am capable of calling Spanish speaking parents and coordinating parent/teacher conferences! I was pretty psyched that the parents and I could communicate on the phone... maybe just in short, kindergarten sentences, but it's better than nothing! :) Maybe not having a bilingual teacher will be a plus - I'll be forced to relearn everything I used to know. I typically don't handle changes well... I know they are inevitable, but for some reason, they always catch me off guard. So the past couple of days have been somewhat difficult as I've tried to get to know some of the teachers, learn the policies and procedures of a new program, and reorganize my life around a new schedule. But the stress will be worth it I think. It may take me time to adjust, but I know I am where I am supposed to be for right now. And now... I have a whole notebook of salary and benefits papers staring at me, and they're not going to fill themselves out. Time to get some work done! Thanks for checking in...
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
finally painting!
After living in this house for about 14 months, I'm finally painting! Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I am waking up to go buy a few forgotten supplies. Then I'm going to paint the downstairs. What once was purple, will become a lovely pale yellow. I can't wait to see how the lighter color will brighten up the room! I'm excited to be at a point where I can start to do some "cosmetics" to the house. For the past year I've done nothing but fix and repair... There are definitely still some repairs that need attention, but they can wait. This little house deserve some pampering. ;) I got thinking the other day about how this house represents my life. I absolutely adore this house... even with its flaws (some minor, and some MAJOR!). It was in terrible shape when I bought it. It had sat empty for at least a year and a half. I had to clean from top to bottom. There were spider webs, bugs had taken up residence, and the whole house smelled of mildew. The water heater was on its way out, and decided to bust the first time we used it, the refrigerator died within 2 weeks, the heater/air conditioner has malfunctioned 4 times (at least), the kitchen flooded multiple times, the floor in the living room was caving in, and I could keep going... (really, I could!). There have been days when I simply wished for one week without something going wrong! So much has been done to this house. Today a friend of mine, who has heard about the house for a year now, but never seen it, came by for a visit. She came in and said, "what a cute house!" And my response was, "Yep, I sure do love it. I've had to do a lot of work on it, and there's still so much left to do, but it's mine, and I really do love it." :) You know... I can imagine God saying that about me sometimes. I was a mess when He bought me. He had to clean me up from head to toe. He's always having to clean up my messes and fix my broken pieces. I'm feel like there are some times when He wishes that I could go one week without something going wrong. And yet, He loves me. I am His, and He Has already taken care of every problem that may come my way. Nothing surprises Him. I can almost imagine Him chatting with the angels and saying, "There's my Bonnie. I sure do love her. I've had to do a lot of work on her, and there's still so much left to to, but she's mine, and I really do love her." :)
Sunday, July 15, 2007
vacation #1
Have a great week, and thanks for checking in!
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Hope for Durham!
Ok, here are the photos...
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Horizontal Lighting
This evening we had a pretty great thunderstorm in Durham. As I was driving to Bible study, I saw something I haven’t seen in a very long time: horizontal lightning! Usually I love storms while at home, and hate them while driving, but this time I didn’t care where I was. You see, the last place I saw horizontal lightning was in South Africa. For my last year in SA, I lived in a really nice apartment with an awesome view. Whenever it stormed, I could see the lightning for what seemed like a hundred miles. Johannesburg is somewhat known for their spectacular lightning storms, and I had the perfect view from which to admire them. I’ve never really understood why I like storms so much, but maybe one reason is that they remind me of just how big this world is, and how much bigger our God is, who created it all, and holds it all in His hands. Lightning is a huge and magnificent power – how much more powerful is our God!? It makes me feel so small, yet so comfortable to know that the same God who created the lightning created me as well. I am comforted to know that God has a plan for me – a plan greater than He had for even that huge bolt of lightning that I witnessed today. I am forever wondering what that plan is, and I’m always trying to stay one step ahead of God… trying to figure out His will for my life before He’s ready for me to go there. I wish I had a simple answer to the question of how to stop doing that, but in all honesty, I don’t! (Any advice is coveted!) I try to take one step at a time, but it’s so difficult at times. Just when I start to feel comfortable here, in Durham, in the wonderful life I’m living, I reconnect with a South African friend… we talk about life in South Africa, what I’ve been missing, and what I’ve been doing here. It’s always nice, but this time she told me about this teaching possibility in South Africa. The chances of things working out for me to do what she was telling me about are slim to none, but still… it made me think about it again. It makes me wonder whether I’ve been doing the right thing here in Durham. I mean, I bought a house for goodness sakes! Talk about having strings attached to Durham. And not just any house, but my special little house… I can’t just up and leave! This is what happens though… I’ll go weeks, months even, without missing SA, and then out of the blue - WHAM! – my heart is aching again to be back there. But… the lightning tonight reminds me: God is in control. He’s got it, and I can trust Him. When I want to question what God’s will is for my life, He has already told me in His Word. “He has shown you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 Lord, help me walk.
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Friday, June 01, 2007
update on Brian
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Pray for Little B!
He'd probably kill me for calling him "Little B" in a public sphere like the world wide web, but he'll get over it. ;) A couple weeks ago Brian had appendicitis. He had to stay a bit longer because his appendix burst during the surgery. Well, last night (Thursday night) he went back to the emergency room (in Sanford) because he wasn't keeping anything down (including the antibiotics they had him on from the appendicitis). Well... in all honesty, I can't report things exactly, but the run down, as I know it, is this... Brian only has one kidney (apparently he was born that way). The "good kidney" is now having issues. This morning I heard it was failing, but when I visited him this evening, they weren't sure about that. I'll probably have to wait till tomorrow to learn more. They transferred him to Duke because they couldn't do any more for him in Sanford. So, he's in my neck of the woods now! Please be praying for God to make it known that He is with Brian, as well as with his whole family. Jamie (his Mom) is so tired of hospitals! And I'm sure Little B is too. Pray that God will give them peace as they await reports from the doctors. God is good, and I know He is with them!! Thanks!
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Hooray for being appreciated!
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Wonderful Weekend
What a wonderful weekend!! It all got started with a much needed nap… all 2 hours and 15 minutes of it. I was expecting Leanne to come home from work earlier than that and wake me up, but alas, she did not… so I slept for a long time. Like I said, it was much needed. The nap was quite helpful in staying up Friday night to watch Spider-Man 1 and 2 at la casa de Chris, Clifford y Jason. Yes, we watched both movies in one night… and yes, it was a late night. Unfortunately I had to be up in the morning to go to Sylvan… I somehow stayed awake for a few hours for work and then headed over to Oxford Manor. It was raining, so Oxford Manor kids club was cancelled. So, I did what any responsible young woman would do… I called Leanne and asked if she wanted to go shopping. She said yes, so the shopping commenced. After finding some great deals, we came home to get ready for another fun-filled evening. We drove over to Brier Creek to watch Spider-Man 3 (hence the watching of 1 and 2 on Friday night). I’m no movie critic, and I hardly feel qualified to comment on how well the movie was made, but it sure seemed amazing to me! After the movie, we all (the many who had gathered to watch Spider-Man) made our way over to Sips coffee house in Durham to hang out with more YPs than I even knew existed, and to be hilariously entertained by none other than the likes of Rhett and Link (www.rhettandlink.com). Much fun. Much laughter. And a lovely white mocha with raspberry flavouring. Some friends went to a late dinner and some went to karaoke afterwards, but I somehow stuck to my commitment to go to bed at a reasonable hour since I had to wake up extra early this morning to sing on the praise team at church. Somehow I didn’t think I would be glorifying God very much with a voice that had only about 3 hours of sleep! So I came home, went to bed, and woke up early this morning to start yet another full day of excitement. I sang on the praise team for all three services this morning, which is always fun… though a tad bit tiring. We went to Las Palmas after church… hadn’t been there in quite a while. I got to talk to Nikki more than I have before, and she’s quite a funny character (in a good way, Nikki!). The idea was birthed to have a movie night here… so we all went our separate ways for a few hours. Leanne and I went to ESL, where usually I help watch the kids… but today they had more students than usual, so I got to work with a lovely lady name Laura. I was nervous (I’m used to teaching kids, not adults!) but we had a good time and got to practice some English. Good times. After ESL, we trekked home again to prepare for the movie night. Not long after, the friends got here, and we hung out for a short bit before watching the movie on Leanne’s new TV! (Bless you, Leanne!) Now, I’m about to go to bed… once again tired, and once again wishing Monday morning wasn't coming so stinkin’ early. But hey, if having friends like these means being a little tired at work… bring on the coffee!
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
tidbit of insight
(Psalm 68:19)
I was reading this Psalm this morning. You know how there are things you kinda know about God, but they don't really dawn on you right away? This verse kind of was like that for me this morning. This verse showed me, plain and simple, that God daily bears us up. He is out salvation. Selah! I wasn't sure what Selah meant, though I've seen it in the Bible many times. So, I used my handy dandy e-sword resources and learned that Selah means a suspension of music, or a pause. In other words... the Lord daily bears us up, He is our salvation. Pause. Stop. Think about it!! God is bearing me up today. He bore my sin and my burdens yesterday and will do the same for tomorrow, but for today I need to pause and remember that the Lord is to be blessed (or adored, as e-sword says) right now because He is bearing me up, He is carrying my burdens and carrying me through this day. He is my salvation. SELAH!
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
families away from family
My how God has blessed me here. For many many months after my return a year and a half ago, I wondered if I would ever have friends like I did in SA again. My friends there were different than friends I'd had before. Many of them were studying at the Baptist College there, and were ministry minded like me. They were lots of fun (on many different levels!) but they were also strong and God-centered people. When I came back to the States, I had a couple friends, and that was it. At first I met a few people here and there, and they were cool on the surface... but there wasn't much underneath. In SA, I'd learned to look beneath the surface in seeking friendships. I'd learned the benefit of seeking out friends who are real and true people... not afraid to let you see who they really are. I found that hard here though. No one wanted to be real, and no one wanted me to see them for who they really were. I felt more alone in those first few months here than I'd ever felt anywhere, including South Africa (and I felt pretty alone for a while there before I met the amazing people I referred to already). I can't pinpoint one specific day that things changed. Well... maybe I can. Last year, the Sunday of Memorial day, Robin coaxed some of the young professionals (yps) into going to Frankie's to play putt-putt since we didn't have to work the next day. I almost didn't go... but reluctantly decided to at the last minute. I remember having the most fun I'd had in months, and then staying at Robin's house with Josh and Jon until the wee hours of the morning. And all of a sudden, I had friends. I didn't know at the time how awesome they would turn out to be. Didn't know that Josh would turn out to be a powerhouse yp leader with a quite contagious hunger for God's word. Didn't know that Robin would turn out to be a dear friend who has taught me many a things about hospitality, friendships, and dancing (thanks Robin!). Sure didn't know that Jon would turn out to be my Bible study leader less than a year later and quite possibly be the most important person in the life of my house up to this point (besides my Dad, that is!). And that's just 3 people. Tonight I saw something that rocked my world. It doesn't seem huge, but it was in my eyes. Tonight was prayer meeting at the Summit, and at the end of prayer meeting, they introduce the new members and if you know them, you go down and pray with them. Tonight 3 young professionals joined. When the invitation was offered to come down and pray with them, practically the entire 3 rows of YPs got up to go pray with our friends. Amazing. Priceless. This is our family. This is the family I have when I can't go home. We're an eclectic bunch, to say the least. We have our share of issues and differences, but what family doesn't?? I know I'd be lost without them... without their contributions of event planning, witty humour, prayers, home repairs, late night conversations, and who knows what else!? Many of these friends are studying at the local seminary. Many have done missions in the past, or plan to in the future. Even my new roommate (the one, the only, Leanne!) is called to missions, and understands my heart more than I ever thought anyone besides my Mom and lifelong best friend could! God has blessed me once again. I don't deserve this! I have done nothing special to earn these friends, and that's what rocks. God gives freely and without holding back when we earnestly seek and desire to do His will. I sure have been trying lately, but I know it's not my doing, but His! He is the reason I have the friends I have now. He has brought each and every one of them into my life for a purpose. I couldn't be more in awe of His goodness to me than I am right now. He is faithful to do as He promised in Psalm 68:8 (a verse I found and clung to in a lonely time in SA)... "God sets the lonely in families." Praise be to the God who keeps His promises!
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Sunday, April 15, 2007
in His time
I uploaded all of my pictures from this weekend onto facebook. Let me know if these links don't work for you!
Work day page 1
Work day page 2
here are a few random shots... but the links above have almost 100 pictures, so take a look!
Link to other pictures: http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Monday, April 09, 2007
weekend projects
Check back next week for pictures of the house projects that will FINALLY be done on the 14th!!!
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Addendum
A few minutes ago, I was getting myself ready to go out, and I hear a knock at the door and then the doorbell. I figured the boys were back for their kool-aid. But it was Nyny again and a little girl at the door with a bleeding elbow. Nyny frantically asked, "can you help her!?" (He's quite dramatic!) So, in they came again, and this time Nyny was my little assistant, getting out the band-aids and assuring Destiny that it wouldn't hurt when I washed it off. Nyny took off downstairs in search of the cat as well as his drink. When we were finished, I invited Destiny downstairs for a drink as well. She came down with me, and a few minutes later I hear more footsteps! Nyny had brought two of his friends, Marcus, and one who didn't tell me his name. Marcus wanted some kool-aid too, so I made some more. :) When we went upstairs, Marcus' dad was waiting for them, so I got to meet him. His name is Luis. We talked for a bit, and I was able to invite him to the Easter services at the Summit. They only live a couple of streets over. I am so excited I am about to bust!!! This is what I've been waiting for!!! :) :) :)
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Band aids and Kool aid
A little while ago I was sitting here, like I often do, with my lap-top on my lap... just checking out stuff online. All of a sudden, I heard a skid and then a pretty loud scream from a kid. I live on the end of a road, and there's a dirt road/hill that kids like to ride their bikes down, so I was pretty sure a kid had fallen off his bike. So I went outside, and I was right. There was a little guy, holding up his pant leg and screaming bloody murder. His older brother ran down the hill to check him out. I went over to see if he was ok, and realized that it wasn't really too bad... though for a 5 year old, anything bleeding is BAD! So in they came. I washed and bandaged Nyny's knee while his older brother, Saquaine checked out my house (which he deemed "cool!"). I gave Nyny a little packet of neosporin and a big band aid to take with him. I offered them some water, since that was all I thought I had, and in a typical 5-yr-old way, Nyny asked, "you got any Kool-aid?" And before I could even say anything he yelled, "hey Saqauine, she's got Kool-aid!" Yikes! I don't even drink Kool-aid! But, I thought about it, and remembered that I do have some Crystal light, and they wouldn't even know the difference. :) So I made some crystal light and they drank maybe two sips before going back outside. They asked me to save it for them though, and said they'd be back! hehe :) On their way out, they were met by another little boy, Elijah, who had ALSO scraped his knee and was in need of some good old soap and water, neosporin, and a band aid. His wasn't bad at all, but I figured it wouldn't hurt me to take care of his knee too. :) He was in too big of a hurry to stop for "kool-aid" though. As he ran out the door, he shouted, "thanks, Ms. Bonnie!" and a great feeling came over me. This may be the beginning I've been looking for... a way into this community. If all it takes is band aids and kool-aid, I'm in! But I do need to go to Wal-Mart for some real kool aid and more big band-aid suitable for scraped knees... I have a feeling they'll be in high demand. ;) Leanne... hope you're ready to be a knee bandager and kool-aid dispenser! :)
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Hooray for a new roomie!!
God is so good! The weekend after Easter (the 14th) Leanne will be moving in! I'm so excited!! I will have only had to go without a roommate for a month (just enough time to enjoy the time to myself and be ready for a roommate again). It's crazy how it happened really. A few weeks ago Leanne and I had talked and I mentioned how we'd be great roommates. Well, she has a dog, and I have cats, so we quickly said, "aw man!" and moved on. Well, Friday night, while hanging out with the YPs, I mentioned what I was going to charge the next person who lived with me. It was a pretty low number, but I clarified that I would only take that amount if it was the "right" person... someone who truly wanted to live with me in this house... already knowing the issues that it has! Well, Saturday morning Leanne emailed me and said that "if the offer was still out there" she was finding a home for her dog! Now, before you feel bad for the dog (as I did), Leanne has been praying for a while about what to do with the dog because she hasn't been home enough lately for him, and she's also going overseas at some point and would need to find him a home anyway. Since Saturday, Leanne and I have talked A LOT... some about random stuff, but also about the house and roommates, and whatnot. I wanted to make sure she knew about ALL the issues of living in this house and the issues of living with the imperfect me! I know I'm not the perfect roommate, and even knowing what she knows, she still wants to live here. (She MUST be a God-send!) So... in a few weeks, I won't be alone anymore! Oreo will love the attention. Leanne is an animal person too, so Oreo and Wallace will be pleased. :) It's crazy how much we have in common. We're both way into missions, want to do something exciting in this neighborhood for Jesus, go to the Summit, work with kids (she's a nanny), are Tarheel fans!, and much more... we stood outside of Moe's last night by my car talking for over an hour about lots of stuff (mostly missions, but other things as well). I can't wait till we have more time to hang out with her and get to know her more. God is so amazing! I knew He had a plan in mind this whole time. :)
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Friday, March 16, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
home repairs update
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Monday, March 12, 2007
kids songs are fun
so STRONG and
so MIGHTY
There's nothing my God cannot do
(clap clap)
My God is so BIG
so STRONG and
so MIGHTY
There's nothing my God cannot do
for you!
Anyone out there know this great kids song? I have it in my head right now. I'm too sleepy to tell you why at this present moment... but I shall do that very soon. Just know that God rocks and so does my church! :-D
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Sunday, March 11, 2007
home beautifications
In other news, a little over a week ago my best friend had her second baby, Lauren Avery Godfrey. When Savannah was born I was in South Africa, so I missed all of her being a baby. But this time I got to see the baby when she was less than a day old! She was teeny tiny (5 lbs 10 oz), so I was a little nervous about holding her at first, but she seemed to sleep just fine no matter how I held her. I love being an Aunt! :)
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Sunday, March 04, 2007
that must be some church...
When I first interviewed for the tutoring job at Sylvan, I was talking to the boss and she made a few comments that lead me to believe she was a Christian. She said something like, "we serve an on-time God" a couple of times, and was wearing a bracelet that I think had the verse on it "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (If not that verse, it was definitely a Bible verse.) When we finished talking, I asked her where she went to church and she said something like, "oh... I don't go to church... I may never go again." Hmm... I figured that the day she hired me probably wasn't the best day to go deep, but I just mentioned, "well, if you ever want to come the Summit, you're always welcome" and I left it at that. Since I started working there about a month ago, I've been fortunate to be able to hang out with a few of the other tutors who are around my age. As far as I can tell, none of them are Christians, so it's been interesting getting to know them a little outside of work. The cool thing is, they like me! God has somehow given me favor in their eyes, and I am praying for ways to reach out to them without freaking them out. Well... today I went to work and as I was putting some of the books away, I noticed a new tutor. I thought she looked familiar, but I couldn't see her whole face and I wasn't sure. My boss was in the room, so I went to her and said, "the new teacher... is her name Stacy?" And my boss said, "yeah... does she go to your church?" When I said yes, my boss and one of the other girls I work with said, "ahh..." Apparently during her interview, they'd asked her what brought her to Durham and she had replied that it was her church. They remembered me saying the same thing. Diane (the boss) said, "wow, that must be some church." To which I replied, "you'd better believe it - you'll have to check it out sometime." Both she and the other teacher (who is also an assistant to Diane) said something to the effect of "yeah I guess so!" Wow! How cool is God in the way He orchestrates things?! Please be praying for God's name to be made famous in the lives of the teachers (and the boss!) at Sylvan. I pray that God will use me in some way to help reach out to them and show them how much He loves each of them. God is so good!
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
so what's new?
Anyway... those select few of you who read this may want to know how the house is coming along! I haven't been able to do a whole lot lately because money is tight. Winter is an expensive time of year when you have gas heating! Never again will I choose to have gas heating!! (although, with this house, there was no choice) Hopefully the warmer months are coming, and I won't have to fork our exorbitant amounts of money just to keep from freezing. :) I am thankful for heat though. A few weeks ago the heating unit died... and during the coldest week of the year so far! The nights were getting down to about 13 (Fahrenheit). We have space heaters in the house, but if both Jasmine and I ran them on high, we blew a fuse! So, since she didn't want to go anywhere, I got to go hang out with Jessica P, one of my newest and coolest friends from the Summit. We're in the same Bible study, and I'm so grateful for her hospitality! I was offered a place to stay by many people at the Summit, which just confirms for me more and more that the Summit is my family away from family. What do people without church families do when they're in a pinch? I have not the slightest clue. I just know that I'm thankful for mine. :-D I guess the other news regarding the house is that in a couple of months I'll be roommate searching again. Jasmine wants to live on her own, so she'll be moving out soon. I like having a roommate... being alone is no fun! So please pray that God will provide the perfect person, at just the right time... someone who will love this troubled little house as much as I do! ;) I trust that He already knows who is coming, and I'll just have to wait and see. umm... Oh! I few weeks ago I learned that a guy from my church restores old houses! Why didn't I know this sooner? I literally see and talk to this guy and his wife every Sunday morning, and I didn't have a clue. He is willing to come over and take a look at my house sometime, and maybe he can help me out on getting the work done. Maybe by this summer the major repairs will be done! In God's time... in God's time... I have to keep reminding myself of that. :) God has been teaching me a lot about that lately. I don't have time this morning to go into all that He's been doing in my life, but trust me when I say that He has brought me to a great place - a place where I must rely on Him and wait upon Him. There's no better place to be, right!? Well, time's about up... hopefully I'll be able to get some meds at the minute clinic and be breathing in no time! Thanks for checking in on me!
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Sunday, February 25, 2007
new favorite song
"Yesterday" - Mary Mary
I had enough heartache and enough headaches
I've had so many ups and downs
Don't know how much more I can take
See I decided that I cried my last tear yesterday
Either I'm going to trust You or I may as well walk away
'cause stressing don't make it better
Don't make it better, no way
See I decided that I cried my last tear yesterday
Yesterday, I decided to put my trust in you
Yesterday, I realized that You will being me through
There ain't nothing too hard for my God, no
Any problems that I have
He's greater than them all, so
I decided that I cried my last tear yesterday
Amen!
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81
Friday, February 23, 2007
small victories
That conversation was taking place during a car ride to Southeastern seminary last night to attend a "Girl Talk" night. Carolyn McCulley was speaking, and I was like a 4 year old at a Doodle Bops show. You see, Carolyn McCulley is the author of a blog that I adore (www.solofemininity.blogs.com) She is an unashamed single Christian woman, and she lives the life that I am so striving to live. She wrote a book called, "Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? - Trusting God with a Hope Deferred." Great book! I found and read it while I was still in South Africa, and it helped to prepare me for the life I'd be forming for myself once I arrived back in the States. It was her book that first planted the "house-buying" seed in my head! (I think that's a good thing... most of the time... heheh) Anyway... it was a very intimate setting last night... very laid back and casual. I even got to meet and talk to Carolyn afterwards. And get this... she had mentioned in her talk that she'd been in South Africa, so I had to ask her where she was. When I mentioned that I'd lived in South Africa too, she asked if I'd emailed her (which I had). She remembered me! Small victory... oh yeah... :)
Right now I am typing this at the computer in my pastor's house. A friend of mine and I are were babysitting his and another couple's kids tonight. How cool is it that I have the privilege of playing with and getting to know the Greears' kids? I know that oftentimes the drawback for some people of a big church is that they think no one will know them. A coworker of mine said just a couple days ago that she didn't like them because if she were having a problem, she'd want to be able to call up her pastor and be able to talk to him without having to first explain to him who she was. When I came back to the States, I thought I wouldn't like the Summit anymore for very similar reasons. But God has blessed me so much! First, He gave me eyes to see that the pastors at the Summit are just men... and their wives are just women. They are special, yes... but they are not the be all and end all of the Summit - God is! And if I had a problem, there are numerous Summit people I can call upon. But second of all, God has granted me the opportunity to know the pastors and their families, and that is so wonderful. Hopefully I'll have the chance to hang out with their cool kids more later... but for now... they're home! Time to go!! :)
Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81