Glowy Unicorns and Complaining!

Tonight was the kickoff for our 8th grade girls Small Group - these girls have energy - wow! From the moment they walked in to the moment they left there was never a dull moment...they talked about everything - including but not limited to being "glowy", unicorns, baby names, complaining, denarius, the meaning of Noel, and so much more that I wish I could remember. However the best thought of the night was in the beginning when we were talking about the baby and the girls were asking how it felt to be pregnant - which was entertaining to say the least...one of my girls asked me after I squirted the dog because he is being trained to not whine when he is behind the gate, "Jana, are you going to spray your baby in the face when he cries, like you do when your dog cries?" Oh my goodness - I had to laugh at that one and insisted that I could not!

We did tonight talk about complaining - we looked at the Parable of the Workers in Matthew 20:1-16. Check it out and be challenged! Looking forward to more fun times with these girls!

MS, Baby, and Me

Hey Friends - as most of you know now, or have just found out, my husband and I are expecting our first child! We are thrilled, but nervous and excited all in one. I just wanted to let you know about a new blog that I have started...it is called MS, Baby, and Me. You can find it by going to msbabyandme.blogspot.com It will be our journey into parenthood, but it will be a bit of a different journey because of my health conditions. With that being said, it is our hope that our blog would be a prayer request for our child and for us as parents, that it would also be a place of humor and joy for those who follow us, but also that it would be an encouragement to others out there that might be struggling with MS or another disease but also find themselves on the path to parenthood.

One thing is for sure, since Joel and I are involved it will be humorous (Joel says he likes me when I laugh, (not that he doesn't when I don't - I have learned that)) and it will be honest, and sometimes a bit of raw emotion, but hopefully in all of that our story will be God honoring!

Thanks for your prayers! The next 244 days (I only know that from using my new Baby Bump App for my I Phone) are going to be a wild ride! Hope you will join us in the adventure!

Starfield and Mikeschair Interviews

Check out the videos of me interviewing "Starfield" and "Mikeschair" over at my website: www.tarajaministries.com. Both were a lot of fun!

Mike's Chair

This band is the real deal....they not only are great on stage, musically awesome, but they have great passion for Christ! They are men of integrity! I had the privilege of getting to know them backstage at Impact. I even will be soon posting a video interview with them. If you have not checked out their music - go to www.mikeschair.com Check out some of these great pictures!

Guest Blog

Hey Friends! Just wanted to pass along a hello to anyone that has just started following me here. This week I have the honor of being a guest post on www.morethandodgeball.com one of the most popular youth ministry blogs - Josh Griffin is a great guy and can take a little credit in helping Joel and I find love! (or at least he likes to think he helped in that process) Needless to say he is in Kenya right now and was looking for some guest bloggers - so go there and check out my blog on "The Sexy Truth" To get more information about the Sexy Truth - check out our site at www.thesexytruth.org

An MS Moment

As many of you know I live with a disease called MS. Today I am feeling my MS as I struggle with a sinus infection - it seems as though I can't get sick like "normal" people....when I get sick it always goes straight to a full fledge infection. Last night I was so sick I was delirous - I think Joel was a bit annoyed or ammused! Anyway - let me get to the point. There is five kinds of MS - I have the relapsing remitting form. Some forms are more serious some are less. Mine is considered moderate - for that I am thankful, however that could change anyday and for that I must be prepared.

I am writing this email not to let you know about my MS - but to help educate the people around me. I have another dear friend who is a few years younger than me and has been suffering with this disease for several years longer than I. She struggles at times to walk, she is not able to work, her life has been completely altered by this debilitating disease. Although with many people that have this disease - you can't tell by looking at her. She looks just like any other trendy 30 year old - hence why this disease is called the invisible disease.

Today my friend made a bumper sticker - that is pictured below. My friend has been given dirty looks, received rude comments, and finger pointing when she gets out of her car that she parked in the handicapped spot. If she had to park far away from the store - she wouldn't make it back to the car - you see if we can conserve our energy - we can last longer each day. It is not just fatigue - it is like your body is a sand bag. I hurt for my friend who has received such looks and comments from people who have no idea.

I guess my point is this - we need to stop judging people on their appearance - because by just judging on the outward appearance we are going to fall short every time. But the other thing that I am learning from this is that I need to educate people. So pass this on - tell other people - and next time you see someone pull into that handicapped parking spot - be slow to judge and quick to assist - you have no idea what that person may be struggling with day in and day out!

This my friends is one of the reasons that I dread the day I have to get my handicap placard - because I don't want to be judged - sad isn't it - so many people that could benefit from the closer parking will never take that step for fear of what people will say or assume!

Forty Days of Water

Lent is a time when we often talk about giving up things to consider the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross. I often give things up, but over the past few years I have tried to be very intentional about making a commitment through lent to do something that will draw me closer to Christ. One year I gave up dating - to seek God's heart (and it got me an amazing husband, thanks God!) one year I did a prayer journal throughout lent, another read my Bible daily through lent.

Well this year, in conjuction with Blood Water Mission I am going to do Forty Days of Water. One of the things that Jesus asks of us as Christians is to reach out and share with the least of these....after spending a month in Africa - I found that the people there may be considered the least of these as far as their physical situation, but they showed me that Spiritually I may at times be the least of these....they were so grateful, so grounded on Christ, so dependant on Him...boy did I have so much to learn!

So this year, I am going to drink only water over Lent....and with each glass of water I choose over another type of drink, I will make a donation to Blood Water Mission - a mission founded by Jars of Clay to provide clean drinking water to countries all over the world. This year all funds raised over lent will go towards a project for the Ugandan people. To check out more about this ministry go to Blood Water Mission

If you would like to join me on this venture - drop me a line so we can help each other remain accountable. If you can't join us in the Forty Days of Water - consider making a donation to Blood Water Missions!

Thoughts on the Carb Free Diet

So it has been about a month and a half since Joel and I began our healthy living program! We started with the Atkins diet for the first four weeks. Joel is still doing the Atkins much more strickly than myself, however I have altered the diet a bit more. I am glad I did the Atkins to start because I really needed to detox my body from all the carbs and the sugars! It was so hard - I was having some strong cravings! I am so thankful that Joel was doing it with me - it not I am sure I would have cheated!

So what am I doing now? Well I am doing a little of this and a little of that! Actually I have been doing a lot of label reading on my last few trips to the grocery store - my last trip was not quite as long since I am starting to really know my foods. I have also done some research into the Belly Fat Diet - that diet focuses on cutting down on your sugars - and limiting your carbs to six servings which I am doing! The biggest challenge is that you are supposed to limit your sugar to 15 grams a day. Did you know a banana has 18 grams of sugar - yogurt has 32 grams of sugar - and those are considered diet friendly foods - wow!

I read that the average American Woman eats over 435 grams of sugar a day. While I think 15 is a bit extreme - I know I need to cut back. So now to what I am doing....I am being aware of my carb intake - I am not cutting them out completely but I am trying to stay under the 6 servings a day. I am eating food that is high in fiber - because to figure out net carbs you subtract your fiber from carbs to get your net. Reading labels was time consuming at first but now I know which foods are high in carbs and which are not.

The biggest surprise is how much sugar is in food! I am still doing some label reading in this area - but I think it is really making a difference. I have also found Truvia which is a natural sweetener from the Stevia plant - it is so much better for you than Aspertame or Splenda (and they sell it at the Village Merchants in Richfield). My goal is to stay under 50 grams of sugar a day.

You may be wondering the results - well I have lost about 12 pounds so far - if I was more strict I am sure that I would lose more, but I am happy so far with the results - if I could add a little exercise to my routine I would do even better. Joel has done really well also - about 20 -25 lbs lost!

So thanks for following me and thanks for your words of encouragment. My goal is to lose 20 more by June! I can do this without going crazy!

Praise you in the Storm

That song by Casting Crowns has all new meaning for me this week. As many of you know, I have been posting updates over the past few weeks about my dear friends Dave and Christie Hubner who have been working to adopt a little girl from Haiti for the last three years. It has been a long process! But they have been faithful to their commitment to this little girl despite all the delays with paperwork and other things outside of their control.

In the midst of the tragic earthquake that struck Haiti - they recieved word that their little girl might be arriving on a plane soon. Who knew that in the midst of the storm would come their opportunity to hold their little three year old Ila for the first time. God can make miracles out of messes and that is what hundreds of little orphans are experiencing for the first time.

Just as God has adopted us into his Kingdom and calls us his own. So many are doing the same for needy children all over the world! I am so blessed to have friends that have opened their home to a little girl and now call her their own. The other amazing thing that God does in life is he uses times of waiting to open other doors for us....You see there is more to this story! Last year while waiting for Ila's papers to go through, another little boy came up for adoption and needed a home. My friends listened and were faithful to also adopt a little boy named Jonas! Had they not been put on hold with Ila - they may have never known about Jonas - how great it is too look back and see God's faithfulness in the waiting, in the storms, and now in the Celebrations!

Pray for them as a family, their is going to be a lot of adjustments to be made, the house with be lively with young children under the age of 5, but I can't think of better parents for these children! It trully is a demonstration of God's goodness and grace! I hope that I can model that same kind of love one day!

The Carb Free Me

So I am back to doing my 90 day renewal - however it is being modified to also work with the Atkins Diet. This is the first time I have ever tried this diet - or healthy eating plan as I prefer to call it - let's just say it is really hard!!!! I am going through some major withdrawl - I never realized how many carbs foods had until this week. For the first two weeks you have to stay below 20 carbs a day - did you know a glass of unsweetened cranberry juice has 36 grams in one serving!!! Even carrots have carbs! Joel said that he would rather me not do this if I am going to be cranky - hmmm is he trying to tell me something. I have actually had to pray for the will power to not eat carbs! I feel like I am going through a drug withdrawl - which in essence is what is happening inside my body....no sugar either - so I thought I would be cool and get some sugar free gummy bears - yeah - they still have 36 grams of carbs per serving!

Tonight for dinner - I made tuna salad - and ate it with celery, cheese, and pickles - that was my dinner - for dessert I had some cashews. I just want pasta!!!! Rice!!!!! Sugar!!!! Pretzels!!!! Okay now that I got that out in the open I am going to get myself a nice tall glass of water and get some work done. If you think of it - say a prayer - I know that this is good for me and will hopefully give me more energy - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Our extended time in Charlotte with OCC

We had a great time in Charlotte! It was a mini vacation, little did we know how sick I would be the following week, which makes last week's time even more precious! I could spend lots of time writing a blog about each of the things we experienced, but I am a firm believer that a picture is worth a thousand words so here is a few thousand words to let you know what we did!

The Billy Graham Library was a very neat experience. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was very well done, very relevant, and a great reminder of how God can use just one willing person to change the lives of so many - I can only pray that God will use me in that same way!

That night we headed into the City to see a performance of "Sister's Christmas Catecism" - It was a one woman show - that was interactive. It was very well done, very funny - she did a great job...there were a few times that I was a little taken back by some of her comments and questioned whether it was appropriate to joke about God or Christmas the way she did, just my thoughts, but I am pretty analytical when it comes to that! All is all it was a fun date night!



The next day we had a couple firsts - we went to Sonic for the first time - Cherry Limeades - yummy! We went and sat in Starbucks to meet a friend - love their Shaken Ice Tea Lemonades - pricey but good! And lastly we got to go to a fancy chinese restaurant with Joel's cousin Fred - it think it was called PK Changs or something like that. Needless to say - it was wonderful! Thanks Fred.

And now for the highlight of the week... the press conference





Stay tuned for another upcoming blog with Joel's speech - he did such a great job! I am so proud of his servant's heart - he is such a humble Godly man - how did I get so blessed?

Last Day of Working Charlotte OCC 2009

What a great week we had working at the Center - the kids were great - they worked so hard and truly had a servant's heart while there. We were so privileged to be able to work in the same section every day. The main leader was Bromley - he is so cool and loves Joel and our group. Our staff person was Shana - we just loved having her there and she loved having us - she told us we were her favorite group. When we first got there that morning another guy was planning to put us on his line, and she marched down and said - sorry but these are my people and took us down to her lines. We got to laugh with her, see her pictures, and pray for and with her. She brought me such great joy!!!

We worked on the special lines again, which is hard work but rewarding to know that Samaritan's Purse is able to go into countries who are Anti-Jesus and share the message of hope, not with words, but with shoeboxes and disaster relief. It also made me realize how great I have it to live in a country that allows me to worship freely.

At the end of the day we cleaned up and headed out for our celebration meal at Buca de beppos. It was a great time of laughing and fellowship. And let's just say that dessert was well....amazing and I don't even like chocolate - you will see our before and after pictures. If you would like to see more pictures - check out my facebook and you can see daily photographs of our trip.

One last thing.... this morning we sent our students and our leaders home and we are still here....why you ask, well my husband was invited to speak at a press conference on behalf of the volunteers since he has been coming for so many years. We get to stay until Thursday night! I also start my new job tomorrow - I guess I will be working from Charlotte for the week - which is fine since I have to do lots of research. Anyway - we will be posting more while we are here so watch for updates. You can also check out joelsnyder.net for more info as well.

OCC - Day 3

Today was a great day - but once again very tired! But well worth it! We worked today from 9-4 on the special boxes for Lebanon and Georgia (the country not the state). We laughed a lot, awwwed a lot, and worked a lot - and very well I might say. I am not sure anyone took a break, but me...but I did take a working break. After lunch I was having trouble with my body and brain not working so I went to the candy center (not to eat, silly) and sat down on the comfy chair and put 8 pieces of candy in little bags as filler items. While I was there I met a nice lady named Opal and another lady named Dot and a man named William (aka Billy Ray). We had a great time talking about OCC and I was able to educated them on the process - all my years of service paid off and I was able to share about my Jamaica trip.

After we returned home we had dinner then the group (or at least some of the group) went shopping, of course I would never be caught dead shopping on Black Friday. So this brings me to one of the highlights of the trip...tonight I got to spend some time with a dear friend that I have not seen or talked to in four years. It was such a blessing to be able to see her and spend time with her family. I have missed our talks with one another. She has two of the most beautiful children! Anyway - Becky if you are reading this - thank you for our time this evening - it was a blessing from God!

We ended the evening with a great time of devotions and singing. It has been great to get to know the kids better and have some great talks with the girls - yes we even talked about the birds and the bees or "the sexy truth" (which by the way I will be working on starting on Monday). Now I am tired and soon to sleep. As I look around the girls are happily playing cards the ladies are in their pjs reading and the boys...well .... Joel is in charge of them!

Day 2 OCC Thanksgiving Celebration

Happy Thanksgiving (a day late) But I am going to write this as if it were yesterday since I promised daily updates. We had a great day of rest and relaxation. We enjoyed a nice hope made thanksgiving dinner for 17 people made in our mini kitchen of our sweet. We were able to use the room downstairs to eat which was a blessing - below you will see a picture of our spread - pretty impressive if you could see our kitchen. I think the coolest part of the meal was one of the staff members walked into the room to get something not realizing we were there, and so I asked her if she would like some dinner, and she made herself a plate and called me Mam like 12 times - it just made me happy to food someone else! I just love feeding people. Anyway - it was a great day and we had so much to be thankful for!

Hope you and your families had a wonderful thanksgiving!

OCC Day 1 - in the books!

So fun to get back to Charlotte to help process shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. As we walked through the door, we were greeted by the hugging lady! So nice to see her again - she is like that cute little grandma that everyone loves. The center made a lot of processing changes last year but since I wasn't able to come this is my first year experiencing it - my thoughts you wonder....I love it - it cuts down on a huge amount of noise in the warehouse. I can be doing presort and talking to one of the kids that is doing inspection as well as cartonizing - I love it! The staff is great as always - we especially loved working with Shana today - she was a sweetheart! We hope to be on her line again tomorrow.

Our group was lucky enough to work on a special line for Sensitive Countries - basically that means that the boxes we were working on were going to countries that do not like Jesus - so we have to sort through the boxes to find boxes that don't have Jesus stuff in the box - USA stuff and the part that was interesting was no pigs, or winnie the pooh - you would be surprised how many boxes have that stuff. One thing that I should note - we did not remove those items from the boxes - they just went to different countries that weren't so sensitive.

It was a long day but a great day - we even got to work an extra hour because they had several groups not show up. My biggest thankgiving moment of the day....my stool - thanks Kevin! Oh I did have another thanksgiving moment - I got to see my friend Randy Riddle - he is pretty much the next best thing to Franklin Graham! But really - it was such a blessing to reconnect with him - he went along on our trip to Jamaica several years ago.

Okay I think I am done with my thoughts for today - I need to get my beauty sleep, so I am not only physically beautiful, but emotionally I don't want to be ugly if you know what I mean.

On our Way to Charlotte, OCC Processing Center

It has been two years since my last visit to Charlotte, last year - I was a little busy - wedding stuff, so I guess that is a good excuse. Anyway - Joel and I along with 14 other students and leaders will be piling in a van and making our way to the south. We have another group joining us on Thursday. This will be my seventh year going down - each year I get so excited about serving this awesome ministry. Samaritan's Purse is one of those stellar ministry organizations! They have great staff, great vision, and great opportunities to allow others to serve along side them.

If you are a praying person - please pray for safety for us as we travel, for extra energy as we work all day (for me especially, I don't always tolerate standing very long) and pray especially for the boxes and the children that will be receiving them.

Stay tuned for daily (hopefully) updates and pictures from our trip!

Operation Christmas Child

Hey Friends - have you packed a shoebox yet? If not - you still have two weeks to do so. If you don't know what I am talking about - check out samaritanspurse.org and you can find out how you can pack a shoebox gift for a child around the world. Each year over 2.5 million shoeboxes are packed for children in over 100 countries around the world. Several years ago I had the privilege to go to Jamaica and hand out shoeboxes with an amazing team of OCC staff and friends from around the US.

The children that received these boxes were so filled with joy....if only we could learn to be more joyful in plenty and in want. We have so much to learn from children - especially children in other countries. I have had an opportunity to work with children in Jamaica, Guatemala, and Kenya and all these children - despite having so little - were some of the joyfilled people I have ever worked with. I think Jesus was trying to make a point when he mentioned having child like faith.

Tonight and last week some of our students got to participate in making shoeboxes for other children. It was mass chaos - starting with the shopping trip with middle school girls (fun times!), setting up the room, high schoolers doing boxes, then a room full of middle school students. It was not a big room and it was hot - but they were great and packed over 70 shoeboxes! It is our prayer that lives would be changed because of the message of Jesus Christ that is sent with these shoeboxes.

Day 26 but who is counting!

So if you took a few minutes and you actually decided to count (which I am imagining that most of you would not wait your time to do, since I am not even going to waste my time to count) it has been way more than 26 days since I started my renewal program. It has in fact been much longer than 26 days however the great news is that despite that fact - I have not given up! I refuse to give up until I have completed the renewal even if it takes 150 days to complete.

My rule is that if I don't take the time to start my day off with my daily requirements I can't count it as a day. As many of you remember I started the first couple weeks off with lemon water - I actually even did that on some days that I didn't complete the day - but now I am starting the day with what they call a cranberry tonic - cranberry juice, water, and psyllum husk - you are supposed to add it as a powder but that sounded gross so I am taking a supplemental vitamin of psyllum husk. I also last week added an essential oils vitamin (it is like omega 3, plus all the other good fats) - I am still taking my multi-vitamin as well as my ester C.

I am doing pretty well as far as eating healthy - I am eating more balanced meals and trying to eat more salads and eat less food after 7pm (which is hard when you have a busy day). Now the exercise part - well I am not doing as well with that - I have taken some walks but not as many as I would like. Today I did get my tampaline out for the first time in weeks.

The spiritual section has been very good - good verses to focus on as well as prayers to read - I have not done well with the memorizing like I had hoped, but I will try my best to do better - I just need to take the time to write them out and post them.

Today I was asked to read the labels of some of my favorite food and list those that have good nutritional value and those that don't - I have not yet done that - but I am afraid of what I might find! That is what I plan to do tomorrow.

All in all I am doing well with drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day - I know because I visit the bathroom often.

Now - you may be wondering - am I feeling any results - actually for as much as I am not following the hard core daily exercising regimen - I have seen some great results...first - my MS has been very calm over the last two months, yes I still have a few hard days, but my good days seem better and my bad days seem to be more tolerable. Next - energy! I have more of that! Praise God! Next - I have lost 5-8 pounds - depending on the day - and lastly and most excitingly - I can fit into some of my clothes from the beginning of summer (which means I am finally losing some of my steroid weight (30 pounds I gained, yuck!).

I am feeling really good! Very satisfied with the progress I am making and hope to continue to make! Keep asking how I am doing - that is a great motivation to keep pressing on!

Day 17 continued....

Well there are a couple reason that I have spent a couple days on day 17. The first reason was because I went through the day and followed the regular diet of lemon water, two eggs, salad and so on, then that night when I got to my devotional time I realized it was a free day, and I had thought the free day wasn't until the weekend. So I decided that I would stay on day 17 the next day in order to really enjoy my free day of eating whatever I wanted. The next reason was because the mental health part of the day was about thinking - what consumes your thoughts, you were to write down what you thought consumed your thoughts and then at the end of the day write what actually consumes your thoughts - since I didn't do that days thought until the evening I had to think about it the next day. Well I am going to be honest that was back on Thursday and I am still on day 17. The last reason is because my partner in crime (or with this renewal) had a rough week with her grandma passing away and has gotten behind on her plan. So I have decided to start again tomorrow on day 18 and I will repeat it for several days until she is able to catch up that way we can be doing the same day together - have conversations about what we are being challenged by and what we are doing well at. Also this will give me a little time to start the exercising again since I have not walked or bounced for 2 weeks now - not good!!! I guess that is what happens when you get sick. So there you have the update for the week.

Happy 200th Post - Renewal Day number I don't even know.

I can't even remember when I updated last - I do know it was earlier this week, but I am not sure what day - I guess I could go look but I don't feel like it. This week has been overhwhelmingly busy - I saw several clients this week, taught health and special ed for a day each, went to a bike night, youth group, a football game in Lewisburg where I got to see a ton of old friends and students (I miss you guys!), and today I went to the radio station, had lunch with Braedon - welcome home from your World Race, and then put fabric on the sound panels for the Family life center. Oh my!!! I am tired.

Because of my schedule this week, I have not done well with the exercise part of my renewal. I am so tired and it is usually dark by the time that I get home that I just not able to go. I am also sick - yuck!!!

Anyway - now to my successes and unsuccesses for the week. Along with not exercising I also didn't do well with the vitamins this week - I just didn't take them. (I will do better tomorrow) As far as the eggs go....this week you are supposed to have two eggs a day - I did that one day this week - but I really am not a fan of eggs so I need to do better on that as well. This week I was supposed to start with my lemon water which I did all week - today was rough - our water is so bad in the last two days - I feel like I am drinking a swimming pool. I also was to drink 64 oz of water each day - I think I am doing pretty well with that. So at least there are two successes. As far as the spiritual side of the renewal - I have journaled and done my prayer time every day but one this week. I was also supposed to come up with some weight loss goals this week - my hope is to lose 20 pounds by Christmas. My goal for exercise - 3-4 times a week and my goals for scripture memory - 3 verses a month. Quiet time - 3-4 times a week. I wish I had bigger goals but I really want to focus on being realistic!

So there you have it friends! I am doing okay with my renewal - I am hoping for a good weekend of refreshment and renewal! Planning a walk tomorrow - hoping I am feeling up to it.

A Funny Sign!!!

Okay so I am taking a one night hyatis from my 90 renewal series to bring you this important message from the Wesley Forest camp staff. This is an actual sign that is posted in the women's restroom. I am not even kidding.....

Now all I have to say is .... how do they go about finding the original owner???

Day 7 - One week down!

It has officially been one week since I started my 90 day renewal. I am so excited that I got a great spiritual boost this weekend to add to my life changes that I would like to continue to make. This weekend was the Richfield Mennonite Women's retreat called Unexpected Joy. We looked at different character's of the bible and how God used both their trials and their triumphs to teach them profound life lessons about Himself, about each other, and about ourselves.

I must say I have never laughed so hard in my life - I actually cried because I was laughing so hard, the game boxers and briefs is hysterically funny when playing with a group of 20 women! All I have to say to that is polla - gomy and Apples. We laughed a lot, cried alot, and shared some great memories with each other - what a blessing to make new friends and grow closer to current friends. Remember ladies - we can't have our destinies without our histories - and we are in this place for such a time as this - bring on the JOY!!!!

As I look back over my week there were some things I did very well at - Lemon water, vitamins - I did well with those. I journaled daily which is a huge step for me. I spent time in prayer and reflecting on scriptures. I did not do well memorizing the first verse, but the second verse started yesterday and I almost have that one down.

Yesterday as part of the retreat we had 30 minutes of quiet time. It was interested to hear later how many woman were worried they wouldn't have enough to talk to God about - yet later how many said that they wished there was more time. I need to do that more often. Maybe I should have a goal for once a month to start with in hopes that I will do it at least once a week.

Today our focus was on needing other people, which I just read tonight as I was closing my day...the coolest part about that is that was exactly what I spoke about today at the retreat and it was the same exact scripture! God is so cool like that - not a coinsidence but a God insidence. It also talked about finding a partner in this 90 day commitment...the great news is that I already have someone - Jess! I am so thankful that she is doing this along with me, I do so much better when I have someone to share the journey with me.

Another thing that I did very well with last week that it actually didn't even mention and to be honest it wasn't actually something that I did intentionally it just kinda happened this way. This whole week - all I drank was water, I only had one can of Pepsi on Saturday night as a treat. It actually really does make a difference.

What I didn't do well at....two things which I would like to do better on this week....I would like to eat more green veggies (which means shopping tomorrow!) and doing better with my fifteen minutes of exercise. Although yesterday I was able to go for a hike/walk with some of the women and it was so refreshing! I did it!!! It was so freeing to be able to walk for a little bit - I hope my body keeps responding well!! It was great to have a least a little glimpse of the old me...and don't worry I am not going overboard (I thought Joel was a bit worried about my little excersion, but I promise I rested along the way and exercise is good for me as long as I don't overdo it).

Now it is off to bed to rest and recover from my weekend! God is so good!

Day Three of Renewal

It has been a rough day - I was sick last night so I was up on and off most of the night....so I slept in - then got up and started working right away.... I made my hot lemon water and took it with me to the office. I was so busy and stressed throughout the day I didn't finish my water until 2:30 - let's just say that it wasn't hot anymore!

I didn't even get to read my book until getting home tonight. So at 8pm tonight I finally got to take my vitamins and eat my dinner. I did drink water all day so that is good. Then much to the fact that I am exhausted I did get on my mini trampoline for 3 minutes. I am officially exhausted - I was supposed to walk for 15 minutes today but with all the yard sale work which I was doing for hours so that is better than walking...but I am going to pay for it tomorrow - I am hurting to say the least.

The last thing I have to do today is to type up my top five lists and post it on the refridgerator. So today was not as good as I would like in any way - I was stressed, crabby, tired, and in pain, and I didn't start my day with my reading as I should - let's just say tomorrow I will do my best to read my book before starting my day not ending my day!

Day Two of Renewal

I woke up this morning to a glorious cup of hot lemon juice, not joking - it really is a good way to start your day. While drinking my juice, I did my homework for the day which was to take my top 25 list and break that down into top fives. I had to count how many I had of each category, funny I had 16 to dos, 5 to haves, and 4 to bes - that is things I would like to be aka a good wife. Things I would like to have like my extra freezer or new tires for my car, and lastly but my largest group by far - my to do list, which includes finishing my wedding thank yous. I didn't share my top 25 list last night, but I think I can share my top fives.

Top 5 To be

1. A Godly wife

2. A Godly mother/role model

3. 25 pounds lighter

4. Headache free

5. A life changing speaker

Top 5 To Have

1. A cure for MS

2. More time to quilt

3. A bigger kitchen

4. An extra freezer

5. Clothes that actually fit

Top 5 To Dos

1. Write a book

2. Complete a marathon (not necessarily run)

3. Sell my house by Christmas

4. Adopt or Foster care for abandoned kids

5. Complete my wedding thank yous by the end of this month

That is my list for the day! I also had to walk for 15 minutes - so I mowed the lawn - I hope that counts! And I took my vitamins as scheduled! So that is a check on day Two! Now I am off to burn more CDs for the retreat, and finish the powerpoints. It has been a busy day!

Day One

Don't worry - I am not going to write every day of my 90 days, but I thought that since this was the first day that maybe I should make a post. So here it is. For the first time in over a year and a half I journaled! Crazy I know - I used to journal all the time before I got sick a couple years ago and then for some reason I stopped writing. There is space to write and check things off in the book that I am using but I don't really want to write in it in case I want to do it again sometime. I am so weird like that.

So I journaled all my answers. I started today with my hot lemon water - it was actually pretty good! The books says that it will tell us later why we are drinking that. I took my vitamin and my Ester C - those tablets are like horse pills - I could barely swallow them.

I did the devotional, prayer time but struggled to stay focused - there is my blatant honesty!!! I wish I was a more focused person in that area of life.

You didn't have to weigh in but I did just so I can have a starting point...oh my goodness - I haven't weighed this much since my college days - YUCK!!!!!

For my exercise today I walked the halls at the school for a period as the hall monitor - that was a bit tiring and boring - but oh well. Then when I got home tonight I did my mini trampoline - yes can you believe I have a mini trampoline. I can even do it without getting dizzy which is a good thing....however I only had to to 3 minutes.

Lastly we had to make a list of 25 things that we would like to have, to be, or to do.....you would think with such a broad range of things that you are able to write down that this would be easy...oh my it took me forever just to think of things and I was reaching...it is one of the most random lists....Joel made fun of me that the first thing on my list was to have an extra Freezer...I am not sure why I thought of that first, but I did. Oh well. I am exhausted and have felt pretty crappy all day, so day one is done we will see how the week ends up!!!

The 90 Day Challenge

It has been a busy summer - I have been so bad at blogging as well as bad at eating healthy, bad at exercise (much to my dismay) and bad and getting all the things done that I would like to get done. With all that said - tomorrow morning I am going to begin a 90 day wellness challenge along with a friend of mine. This challenge is total wellness - spiritual, physical,emotional, etc. The best part - it is not a diet but a focus on adding healthy things into my life with each day.

One of my favorite parts is that each week of the challenge there is scripture to memorize - focused prayer time and topics to think about. The book that I am using is called the Becoming the Woman I want to be.

Part of what I hope to do is do daily (let's be realistic - WEEKLY) updates on my blog to help me keep accountable for what I am doing.

I start tomorrow morning off with a hot cup of Lemon water - this should be interesting - I love cold lemon water so maybe hot lemon water will be just as good.

Now I am soon off to bed to prepare for my 90 day wellness challenge. With God's help - I can do this -despite my MS I am going to press on and not let it control my physical health even if I can't exercise as much as I would like.

Dutch Days - Part 4 - Series 2

So today is the last day of Dutch Days which I am not there to enjoy! The big parade was long from what I heard, hopefully my hubby taped some of it for me.

The things that I learned yesterday at Dutch Days....people like Rice Pudding - so much so that they serve it in waffle cones - I am not joking - my father in law made me try it - I just don't like the mixing of those textures.

I also learned that every year it rains at least one night - that it did last night. We were very tired so when the soda stand closed we went home instead of staying for the evening drawing and guess what - the night we put our names in and leave early - they pick my name to win a prize!!!

So my first year of Dutch Days as an official member are gone! It was fun and I am glad I now know the rules.

Dutch Days - Part 3 - Series 2 2009

So this is my third post - I don't think it will be as excited as the past ones since my evening was filled mostly with working too long in the soda stand then having to come home because I couldn't stand any longer - what a bummer I couldn't even get my Mr. Sticky that I was so excited about....however Joel knew that I wanted one so he brought one home for me to enjoy for breakfast this morning. Thanks Babycakes! And speaking of Babycakes - you always know who his football players are at Dutch Days because they always walk by and refer to him as Babycakes - the name that they call him as their coach!

Another thing that I have learned about Dutch Days for Joel - he sees the event as a big reunion - which for him I am sure is very exciting - he actually counts each night the number of people that he talks to that he hasn't seen since last year.... the first night it was 28 and last night 13 - he gets very excited when he sees someone - yes I am married to a social butterfly.

Now - there is one thing that I am not sure I am a big fan of when it comes to Dutch Days, maybe it was because I was tired and had little patience....but the guy that talks on the mic all night long is a bit over the top - he doesn't stop talking and it is really loud - it is hard to hear the customers that are standing right next to you. My other pet peeve....you can't bring pets or scooters to the park, but you can smoke cigarettes and throw them on the ground and blow the smoke in people's faces. I can't tell you how many people came up to the soda stand and blew smoke in my face....if you need to smoke - okay - maybe they should have a smoking area - but don't smoke while in line at a stand - have some care for the people around you!

So that is my little rant and rave about the Talking Man and the Smoking. My last note for today is about what I woke up to yesterday - I was laying in bed sleeping when I woke up to hear the sound of a shovel outside....little did I know that while I was sleeping my In Laws decided to come and clean the stones off the road in front of our house. Joel did go out to help once he knew that they were there, and later he went out and hosed it all down. He has really gotten into the Dutch Days mood. I also was able to get a second coat of paint on our chairs so they are ready for the porch today.

That is all I have for yesterday and Dutch Days - lots to do today as I get ready to fly to NC tomorrow for Workcamp! Hope I get everything done!

Dutch Days - Part 2 - Series 2

So much has been learned in less than 24 hours since my last Dutch Days post.... I must say that I got more comments on that post than maybe any other I have ever written - so maybe I need to write about these types of events more often or maybe it was just because I may have unintentionally frustrated some people with my lack of understanding - regardless - I do have some fun facts that I learned at Dutch Days as well as some new rules. I also am proud to say that I can check off a few things on my Spruce the house for Dutch Days List - thanks to a lot of hard work and great In Laws who as a wedding gift wanted to paint our porch - today.

First I can check off painting the chairs for the porch, trimming the hedges, and painting and sweeping the porch. I still have to get those pesky rocks off the road - too bad the township or the state doesn't do that for us - because after all they are the ones that put them there - maybe they could be a little bit green and recycle them.

New Rules that I learned today - I learned that good Richfieldians go to Dutch Days every night. I am sad to say that I will have to fail on this one since I will be in North Carolina on Saturday - I am really bummed that I am missing the parade! I love parades and since my house looks so good I wish I could be here to listen to people talk about how clean it is on my porch. I am also sad that I can't see the float that I helped make as well as the bands that my nieces are in and best yet - the Grand Marshalls of the parade are Wade and Eleanor Snyder - my favorite in laws! Wade says he is going to smoke his pipe through the parade and Eleanor is wearing yellow - that is all I know at this point - she asked me what I would wear if I was doing that and honestly I said - well it would depend on what color car I was riding in - and that is the honest truth.

The second rule that I learned tonight was from my nieces - however several other girls did confirm it tonight - you must get new outfits for Dutch Days and wear them each night of the event. I did well I did wear a new shirt tonight - so I can check that off my list. And Bria would like it known that she started this trend - however Andrea said that she used to do it so you might have to argue this one out.

Lastly - I learned tonight that you must wear a shirt at all times at Dutch Days - true story at the end of the night they announced that someone had lost their shirt and it was found in the eating area - someone was not following the rules!!!!

Fun Facts about Dutch Days - It is the 41st year of Dutch Days. Some lady was a good citizen and saved Dutch Days because she called the Fire Department when she saw smoke in one of the stands this summer. Favorite Quote of the night - "Good Luck dying" No joke that was really said and I can confirm it because it was Joel that said it....you will have to ask him about it. And the last fun fact - you must be a Strawser or an Aucker to be a lucky winner tonight (for those of you who don't know they do a drawing at the end of each night but you must be there to win).

I do have a fun picture of a huge bug that was found - however my phone doesn't have service at our house so it may have to wait until later.

So there you have it - fun times at Dutch Days - met some new people - will try to remember their names, but will probably forget.....oh I thought of one more thing - you have to get to Mr. Sticky before 9pm or they may run out - I missed out tonight but tomorrow I will go at 6pm and get my Mr. Sticky with walnuts!!!

Dutch Day Rules - Part 1 - Series number 2

So little did I know before moving to the beloved town of Richfield that there was a hidden book of rules that exist when it is mid-july. It seems as though maybe there should be a welcome booklet or basket when you move to town to let you know "the rules of being a good citizen". Actually I did get a basket last night from the church ladies which was very nice, but there was no book of rules, just a devotional, which I don't think will help me with knowing the Dutch Days Rules.

Here are the rules that I have learned so far, and since Dutch Days starts tomorrow, I have many things still to do to gain good citizen status in the community. Rule number one - you must paint or at least spend several hours sprucing up your porch - no lie - our porch has been painted this week! Rule number two - if your porch is already in good paint condition - you must sweep it several times and remove any and all cobwebs and signs of dirt. Rule number three - you must also hose down your porch (notice a pattern - porches are really important). Rule number 4 - you must sweep the stones off the road in front of your house! No I wish I was kidding - this is really an expectation! I didn't even know there were stones on the road in front of my house until I went out to look and there they are stones that I have to sweep up and remove them before tomorrow afternoon or at least most definately before the parade! Rule number 5 - do not call Dutch Days a fair or a carnival - it is not - it is simply Dutch Days.

I am sure that there are other rules that I have yet to learn - I am just scared to find out those rules because I have unintentionally broken one or more of them. I am just going to tell those people - no one gave me the Dutch Days Instruction Manual.....I am not sure that will work, especially since I am married to the man that some refer to as the "mayor of Richfield" - you would think as mayor he would know these rules....maybe he knows them and just thinks they are silly!

So now I am ending my little rant about the rules - since I am a rule follower - I will do all of the above - I might just have to complain a little bit in the process. There will be more to follow in my second annual series on Dutch Days - to find out more check out my archives from last summer! But this year I am a resident and a Snyder - so that changes everything!!!!

A Special Day

Mother's Day is a very special day for most all of us. It is a day that we celebrate the love and the sacrifice that our mother's have made for us. For me, I have the priviledge of having three such moms....three you might ask... yes three! First is my mom - the woman that raised me. Lynn Grant - she is a wonderful, amazing, talented woman. She has taught me so much about life, about kindness and forgiveness, and about love. She has passed on to me her love for quilting and her love for teaching. I am so greatful for my mom.

Recently as most of you know, I was married, and with Joel came a new mom to me, Eleanor Snyder. She is a dear woman, who is always willing to go the extra mile to help do anything that is needed to be done... she has even offered to do my laundry on my bad days. You will not meet a person in our little community of Richfield that does not adore Eleanor. She is a joy to have as a mother in law!

Lastly is a mom that I don't talk about too much, yet she holds a very special place in my heart. She is my birthmother. I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like for her to find herself pregnant at the age of 16. It was obviously not what she planned, however, she made a very big decision to chose life, and for that I am so greatful! I have no idea who this woman is other than she was short and had blonde hair and brown eyes. She was Swedish and Irish (to which I celebrated, when I found that out, because deep down inside I always wanted to be Swedish!) But one thing I do know is that I love her, I pray for her and hope that one day I may meet her or at least see a picture. She gave me life - what a gift.

My mom (Lynn) also chose me... then loved me, cared for me, held me when I was crying, too me to the hospital when I needed stitches, taught me how to sew, took me to camp, the list could go on...but as you see all three of my moms have a special role and place in my life.

Here is a poem that I was given when I was younger, it puts into perspective my thoughts and feelings about my moms. Thanks for listening to my mother's day epilog!

Legacy of the Adopted Child

Once there were two women who never knew each other.

One you do not remember, the other you call Mother.
Two different lives shaped to make you one.

One became your guiding star, the other became your sun.
The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it.

The first gave you a need for love. The second was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality. The other gave you a name.

One gave you a talent. The other gave you aim.
One gave you emotions. The other calmed your fears.

One saw your first sweet smile. The other dried your tears.
One sought for you a home that she could not provide.

The other prayed for a child and her hope was not denied.
And now you ask me, through your tears,

the age-old question unanswered through the years.

Heredity or environment, which are you a product of?

Neither, my darling. Neither. Just two different kinds of Love.
© Author Unknown

More than 10 years oh my!

I just got an email from my alma mater (does anyone else think that is a weird word?) Anyway it was to update our files so they can post a new directory. One of the sections asked you to write in 300 words or less what has happened in your life since graduation.... how do you put 12 years of your life in 300 words or less....well this is what I wrote, do you think that sums it up pretty well ??? Let me know what you think.

It seems as though I just graduated yesterday, however it has been more than ten years since I was a Messiah student. After graduating from college, I taught Health and Physical Education for five years in Clearfield, PA. Then I moved to Lewisburg PA to work for a church, where I served as the Youth Director for the last 7 years. During my time at the church I was diagnosed with Multiple Schlerosis, that has been a very challenging experience, however very faith empowering, as I depend each day on God's strength to keep moving. Most recently I got married to Joel Snyder, a youth pastor at a church in Richfield, PA. I have recently left my youth director position at the church to join my husband as a volunteer in his youth ministry. My time is now spent traveling, speaking at seminars, teaching at the local schools, and counseling teens and couples. It is amazing to see where God can take you in ten years.

I need my pictures....

So I actually have a ton of things to blog about from over the past few months however, most of them require the pictures that I have taken to go along with them and since I am a bit new with my blackberry I am not sure how to get them off. I know lame excuse not to blog but it is the truth. I kinda feel like my funny thoughts are not funny unless I have the picture to go along with the blog!

In other news.... does anyone know how to get your songs from Itunes off one computer and put them onto another, I have tried several methods and none have worked up to this point, so I am all about suggestions....Also I have a blackberry now and I don't really know how to use it that well so if anyone has any suggestions there - I am all open - I don't do well reading manuals!

Okay there are my thoughts for the day! Have a great one!

Pray for my brother Braedon

I just happen to be really missing my brother (in Christ) Braedon Tabor. He was one of my youth group kids and then after going to school a couple years he came and spent a year with me as my intern, the guys just loved him and his music, so I thought I would do a tribute blog to my friend Braedon who is traveling the world and sharing the gospel, if all works a planned I believe they will be in India this month. Here is a song that he wrote and loved to sing for us! We love you Braedon and we are praying for you

Airport Fun

If I was as cool as my husband I would be able to immediately download the cool pictures that I took on my phone and camera from the conference and write all these really cool blogs about my weekend in Columbus, however...I am not my really cool husband and I don't have the ability to do that so you will just have to wait for my cool pics and cool comments, instead you will just have to feel sorry for me that I am currently stuck at the Columbus airport for a long period, but the cool part....some of my great friends Stephanie and Cheryl are stuck here as well so we get to chill together. God makes good out of situations that could be very frustrating...to be honest...this down time has been a real blessing, talking with them is both encouraging and empowering! What a blessing they both are. Once I get my pictures up, I will post one of the three of us.

First Day at NYMC

So the morning started out a little rough...my flight was changed to an earlier time, almost missed the flight - they were going to charge me 15 for my luggage - so I took a pair of essentials and sent the suitcase with my husband...a little awkward to do that in the middle of the check in station at the airport. Quickly headed through security just to find out that my husband's bag actually had contraband in it and all the contents had to be spread out all over the table including my essentials...then I have to hurry to the plane that left at 10:20 instead of 11:15 as mentioned on my itinerary. Needless to say I was the last one on the plane.

In between flights - I got a call from the bank stating I had overdrawn by 200 dollars - wow fun stuff when you are in a different state, but thank goodness my husband was able to save my butt on that one...too bad for late fees.

I arrived in Columbus early , but was pleasantly surprised to find a couple guys with conference signs who were helping us get to the hotel without taking a cab....thank goodness. I avoided my first cab trip thanks to my new friends Troy, Denton, and Jeff (there was another guy too but I can't remember his name, sorry!) We had a great time.

It was so fun to have all the affinity group leaders back together again - I forgot how much they make me laugh - I can't wait until tomorrow. It is going to be a great day! I am however a little nervous about the 8000 cheerleaders who are in the ball room right next to ours....hmmm that could be very interesting. Last year it was the cat convention this year it is the cheerleading convention.

Fun Times In Columbus!

National Youth Workers Convention

So tomorrow morning my plane takes off for Columbus OH - I am so excited about this conference, it is so different than any other conference that I have ever attended....it is relaxing, but still informative, and renewing all at the same time. The goal is that is would be more of a conversation, instead of a sit in chair and soak it all in type of thing. The speakers are real genuine people that care for you whether you work for a church full time or part time, or volunteer...they care about you if you work for a mini church or a mega church. I am honored to be a part of this organization that cares so much for the souls of those that are called to love teenagers and college students. Keep checking back throughout the conference for updates as the weekend progresses...I am looking forward to Caedmon's Call - I would just love to meet them...we will see if that can happen! I will keep you posted. I will also be Twittering while there so check me out on twitter.com/sisterfishbait

Amazing!!!!

First an apology for being so delinqent on my blogging, as you can imagine I have been crazy busy making so many transitions over these last two months. And speaking of two months two marks the milestone of two months of wedded bliss! Which is why I chose the title that I did for this special blog.

Last night I decided to have a girl's night for my five new nieces. We had dinner and dessert and then make giant kisses with chocolate and filling. As you can imagine, there was chocolate all over the place in the kitchen and dining room and lots of dishes to say the least. I went to bed knowing that tomorrow after work I would be cleaning frantically to get ready for our house guests who are watching our pets this weekend, while we attend a marriage conference. (PS Thanks so much Andrea and family - you are the best!)

Anyway - I left this morning before my husband got up and went to Lewisburg for work, after work I rushed back home knowing that I had a ton to clean and pack and all that fun stuff.

As I walked through the door, I noticed flowers on the table, beautiful white lillies, just like I had in my bouquet at our wedding, with a card from my husband wishing me a Happy Two Month Anniversary, I almost cried, however there is more, I looked up and noticed there were clean dishes lining the dining room table, I rushed to the kitchen and found all of the dishes in the sink were cleaned, the kitchen was spotless (besides the boxes that still need to be unpacked) I almost couldn't hold the tears back, I think that was one of the most romantic things that my husband could have ever done for me, I love the flowers, but the dishes sent me right out the door, down to his office to thank him, what a man.... little did I know that had I walked a little further I would have found the bed stripped and the sheets washed and ready to be made......oh my goodness, I can't believe what a great guy he is!

And to just add to this he wrote a blog this morning about "Different but better" how things have to change when you get married, and before he sent it, he had someone else read it to be sure that I wouldn't be upset by it, wow - did I find myself an AMAZING MAN or what.

I am so excited to be married to this man, and it was well worth the wait and I can't wait for the next two months, two years, and two decades that I get the priviledge to be called Mrs. Joel Snyder.

A Football Post, Not a Wedding Post

I am almost shocked at myself...but here goes, I am sure that all of you are expecting a wedding post and actually I was expecting my next one to be a wedding post also - however, I just read a story on ESPN about a football team (yes, football, Joel will be so proud of me!) that brought me to tears. So please take a moment and read this awesome story!!

Life of Reilly

There are some games when cheering for the other side feels better than winning.

by Rick Reilly

Melinda Wright

Gainesville State players douse head coach Mark Williams in celebration.

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.

It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team's fans?

They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.

"I WOULDN'T EXPECT ANOTHER PARENT TO TELL SOMEBODY TO HIT THEIR KIDS. BUT THEY WANTED US TO!"

It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.

"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!"

And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.

But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."

Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?"

And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."

Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders!

"I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"

It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"

Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."

And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.

As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.

The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."

And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.

Hope.

The Highlights of Ninevah

So as the wedding is getting closer, God is continuing to work in my heart on the wonders of Ninevah... first... today on my way home from Ninevah I stopped for gas and it was only 1.82 a gallon - that is definately a plus since I will be doing a lot of commuting during my first several months of becoming a Ninevite.

Another wonder of Ninevah is the people - there are some very nice and welcoming people in the community, they even like my dog! Which is a plus! The workers at the Mennonite Church of Ninevah are also very welcoming to me and my dog - the secretary even has treats for Tucker upon arrival - if only they had treats for me as well...maybe next time.

The Ninevah Mall - to some known as the Village Merchants, to others known as the Richfield Walmart...they have great service there - the cashier was so nice she even volunteered to do some wedding favors. They have clothes, groceries, furniture, decorations, basically everything.

Ninevah has a nice park that is within walking distance so Tucker will enjoy that. I am sure there are many wonders still to come but those are just a few that I have found in recent trips to Ninevah.

There is however one new downfall (literally!) to Ninevah....some of the houses there are made for people with really small feet and have really steep stairs that are easy for people with big feet to fall down on...I know from experience, with a small bruise on my hand to show for it.

Oh Ninevah - you will one day win my heart I am sure, just as the man from Ninevah has done already!

Dave's Bear!!!

My little brother the mighty hunter made the Grant Family proud with the first ever Bear! It was so crazy to go home for thanksgiving and walk out to the garage to see this huge bear laying in the back of my dad's ranger. The funny part about the whole thing is that the bear had been trapped and moved out of our township one year earlier and was taken over 50 miles away, but as creatures of habit, she made her way all the way back to our property, just to meet my brother. She was aged at about 12 years old and dressed out (that means her weight after being gutted, sorry to be gross) at 209 pounds. I am guessing that my wedding present is going to be bear meat!

And the winner is...

Okay for all those that picked 108 - you are the winners of the RSVP contest....and I must say that I have never had so many people second guess themselves about RSVPing and the funny part is that all those that were unsure were some of the first ones to reply - so great job to all my friends who were quick replyers it makes my job easier!

So it is now less than two weeks from the wedding and I still have lots to do - actually I don't have a ton to do - It just feels like it and since the wedding is so big there are some added legistics that make me feel less organized, however I did get quite a few things checked off the list yesterday thanks to the help of Jeanne and Joel - you guys are the best!!!

It is now almost 6am and I am up and ready for the day, I think I am going to do a walmart run before it gets crazy, get all the stuff that I need for breakfast tomorrow and then get some much needed office work done. That is the plan we will see how it goes...oh and take lots of meds today since my body is not happy with the recent treatment - hence being up since 4am.

Six Days Remaining

Okay for all those that have voted so far in my poll I would like to give you a little update on what is happening with the RSVPs - so at this point we still have not recieved over half of our response cards back.....we are still missing 194 cards...now I know that they still have six days to respond, but seriously people should know by now if they are coming or not - for my sanity, please just send the cards in already - I need to be sure we can fit in the church and pay the caterer! Okay that is my little venting/reminder for the day! Hope all is going well with you readers, and to answer the question - no, at this point I am not too stressed, give me a week or two and let's make sure all the dresses fit and then ask me :)

Nineveh or Bust!

This title - though catchy, may cause some people to be upset, however I feel as though this is a perfect opportunity to share what has been going on in my life and in my heart. My hope is that by the end you will understand that I mean not to hurt anyone's feelings, or show disrespect for anyone's community..... so with that as my disclaimer...here's what went down.

As you know - In one month I will be getting married, so that leads to many changes, some of which are really exciting and some of which are going to take some time to work through and process. Anyway - the decision was made that I will work full time at the church until Jan. 31st and then I will work part time from that point until May 24th. This will allow time for the kids to have some closure and so forth.

Well this week in youth group was the week for me to tell my Branching Out students, the middle schoolers, I had told the high school students the week prior and now it was time to break the news to the younger of my kids. The lesson that day just so happened to be on Jonah, my kids were in groups and they had to act out the four chapters of the Jonah. As the students began to act it out, I had a strong realization that I was acting like Jonah, maybe not outwardly but in my heart. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and he said no way - then the great fish came....you know that part of the story, so Jonah says fine God - I will go to Nineveh, but I am not going to be happy about - even though Jonah went his heart was not in the right place.

Well, as I sat there convicted about my own heart being in the wrong place, I used my leaving as an analogy of Jonah - but I had to admit to my kids, my heart is just like Jonah's - I know I am to move to Richfield, but I don't want to leave what is comfortable, I don't want to leave my kids, my church family, my friends, my favorite little house....I have a bad attitude about moving. It is hard to admit that we have a hard heart to our kids, but I think it helped them understand that I wasn't leaving them, but God was moving me to a new place to do a new ministry.

I then told the story to the parents at our meeting the following day...one of the parents jumped up and said we should make a sign for your car on your wedding day that says Nineveh or Bust! So lately I guess I have been like Jonah and I have seen Richfield as my Nineveh, I am so excited (and a bit nervous) to get married and start a new life, and my goal in this next month is to allow God to change my heart so I am not just saying that I am willing to go, but I have a joyful heart about going as well!