A Little Holiday Treat

Check out the link below. I'm sure many of you have seen these videos before, but this is one of my favorite so far. For those on the other side of the pond, this will give you a taste for the American way of decorating for Christmas. But remember we are not this fanatical about decorating JUST for Christmas, but ALL holidays. Hope you enjoy!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2476694165464962182

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This morning I watched most of the 80th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. As I lay on the couch watching 50 foot balloons float down the street I began to think about how ridiculous Thanksgiving has become! Rather than being focused on family and all that God has blessed us with, we are bombarded with tv show marathons, football games, and the best shopping sprees for the entire year. This year God's blessings have almost been overwhelming to me. His financial provision is literally unbelievable to some and yet I have received an abundance simply because I serve an awesome God. I'm so blessed to have the family that I do and to be placed within a Church that is moving forward in the purposes of God. As I have been going through certain situations recently I'm learning to trust God more and more, and through all of this I've learned of God's patience towards His children and His faithfulness. I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, but most of all I hope you remember and continue to live in the blessings of God.

Visit to St.Louis

I went to St. Louis 2 weekends ago so I know this is late coming, but ever since I got back from St.Louis I feel like I've been crazy busy. Praise God that I have a whole week off from work to catch up on things!!

The main reason I went to St.Louis was because my dear friend Jackie Stam got married!!

Congratulations Chris & Jackie Burke!! It was wonderful to see lots of friends that I had not seen in a long time (some since I went to Wales!)

The bonus about going to St. Louis was that I was able to stay with Brian, Amy and Cora. Cora's birthday was on November 3rd and had an extended birthday by recieveing gifts both a week before and a week after her actual birthday. Here are some pictures of her opening the present from me, Aunt Kristin and Uncle Peter.

(She loves taking things in and out of boxes.)

Going after more presents *haha*

Having fun with her new toys.

I also got to play with her a lot before leaving on Monday and she was such a character!! She changes so much every time I see her that I can't believe how fast she is growing up! Here are some pictures of our good time together. Enjoy!!

Hello There!

Standing on her head

Clapping her hands

Shopping at Costco

Being Silly :)

Farewell Claire

About 2 weeks ago I was informed that basically my lovely little car, Claire, needed a new engine. I had an idea that she needed some work...but a new engine?! Crazy, I know. In my half asleep state (after a full night of work) my father explained the situation to me and I decided it was time for a new set of wheels to get me to work (which is only 2 minutes away) and around town. So a week ago I made the biggest purchase up to this point in my life...a new car!! I would like to introduce Abbey to you.


I'm sure to all those in the UK it looks quite large. Compared to other cars around here its not really that big, but I am adjusting to the size since Claire was much smaller.


This is the inside. I think my favorite thing is the fact that it is so quiet while I'm driving!! My other car was incredibly loud and I always had to turn up the music if I was on the highway. Now this car automatically adjusts the volume according to how fast I'm going!

Kristin took this picture the other night before going out to coffee.

All I can say is that I'm so blessed by this new car. It was unexpected to have to buy a new car at this time since I was planning on driving the other one til she was completely dead, but she was half way there so I knew it was time. I also wasn't expecting to buy this nice of a car so soon, but God's provision has been so amazing and now I have a very reliable car for several more years.

So something I would like a little input on. In case you didn't notice I like to name my cars. Although I did mention that this one is Abbey I've decided to have a little contest to see who can come up with the best name. Now if you think I should stick with Abbey tell me that too. Just to give you a few specs about it. It is a 2006 Mazda 6; 23,000 miles; dark red/wine/marroon (whatever your interpretation is of the color); cd player and all the little gadgets you can think of; power everything; airbags all around; no sunroof at this point but I may put one in next spring. So...if you have any ideas on a name just jot it down (and there will be a little prize for the final decision) :) Look forward to your ideas!!!

Covenant Love

I am currently teaching with Darla Loy among our Life Groups about Covenant. We just moved to a new group last week so last night was my first time with the group. At the end we discussed a few comments on my teaching and ended up having a great discussion on covenant love. Looking at 1 John 3:16 which says, "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." This is the love we should have for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We futher discussed that even if you meet another Christian on the street, once you find this out there is a certain level of love that is shared that is not/can not be shared with someone that is not a Christian but is instead of the world. All of this is based on the New Covenant that God has made with us, and because of this covenant we can now live in covenant with our brothers and sisters. It's important to remember this covenant is not for our personal benefit, although it is an added blessing when we come into the family of God. As the Body of Christ we are protraying God to the World. The Godhead is the perfect example of a covenant relationship as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit live in perfect unity. As the Body of Christ grasps this we will reveal to the World who God trully is. We will be seen as a united people who have the same vision and purpose in mind. We will not be seen as a stiff group of people who simply don't know how to have relationships with each other, as sadly so many churches have today. I pray that the Church will continue to recieve revelation about the Covenant of God with His people and that we would begin to walk out a covenant relationship by attaining the same purpose of advancing the Kingdom of God.

To finish off, a quote from Erling Thu's Covenant Friendship: "There is a perfect harmony between the persons of the Godhead and God wants that peace to be expressed in the covenant community of His people. Peace is the result of God’s activity in covenant, and is expressed in completeness, wholeness, harmony, and fulfillment in a relationship."