Wednesday, May 6, 2015

A Year of Marriage and Ministry!

It's hard to believe that almost a year has passed since we stood at the altar and committed our life to each other! Nine months since we started serving in college ministry. People keep asking me what I've learned, what's been the hardest thing, and what's been the best thing. It's a little overwhelming to think about the whole year. But here are our Top 10 favorite moments; 


1. A support-raising road trip! Amazing to see the Lord come through so faithfully by providing for us and our first year of ministry!


2. Kicking off the fall semester with dorm move in, volleyball, and meeting lots and lots of new faces!

3. Being discipled by this wonderful woman and her husband. They  have been a comfort, example, encouragement, and priceless resource to us!

4. Kicking off our community group. Loved living life alongside these freshman and sophomores all year!


5. Celebrating Birthdays!! cookie cakes on cookie cakes on cookie cakes!

6. TCU Football games

 7. Graduating from college!! Real life, here we come!

8. Starting Community Group up again. Welcoming new friends, developing leaders for next year.

9. Celebrating Easter with close family and friends

10. April Crawfish Boil! Celebrating another incredible year of ministry and life together with our college leadership and volunteer team! So thankful for each of these people. 



Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Honduras - Living Water

For Spring Break, we took a group of students to Saba Colon, Honduras with Living Water International. We had a great team and a wonderful week! Here's some pictures of our trip!




The team just before we flew out on Friday night.








Our Honduran friends picked us up at the airport in San Pedro Sula, and we started the 4 hour drive to the village we would be drilling the well in. We made a brief stop at a fruit stand, we got to try "lychee". Funny looking, but delicious!!













We traveled to Saba Colon to the village that needed the water well. We dug the well in a school yard of an elementary school. Here's a few shots of the classrooms, school yard, and toilets of the school. 









The guys spent the week helping the Honduran team drill and build the water well.


While they were drilling, we did hygiene lessons and Bible stories with the kids. And during recess we got to play lots of soccer and jump rope.






On Thursday, we finished and dedicated the water well with the entire school! The principal of the school thanked our team, and he began his speech by saying, "water is life". What an incredible reminder of the importance of what we got to do for this village. Provide clean, living water both physically and spiritually (John 7:38).

It was an incredible trip and we were so grateful for the opportunity to serve this village and learn from our Honduran brothers and sisters.




Saturday, January 31, 2015

Fullness of Joy

I woke up this morning feeling a bit out of sorts. Nothing specific had happened to make it a bad day, I just wasn’t feeling super happy. So I cuddled close to Sam and whispered good morning. I got out of bed when I wanted to instead of to an alarm, because it’s Saturday and Saturdays are our rest days.
I had a breakfast of homemade granola and a banana. Spent some time reading my bible, and finally got down on my knees to pray, still trying to shake the blues. 



As I sat there trying to focus my brain and talk to the Lord, I grew increasingly more frustrated with myself. Why can’t I just be joyful? “Maybe I’ll get up and make some hot tea, it would fit a rainy day like today and it might make me feel better” I thought to myself. But as I began to stand up, I remembered something I’d read the night before. It was a line from Psalm 16…

“In Your presence is
fullness of joy”
Ps. 16:11


Here I was again. Looking for joy in all the wrong places. In my husband’s arms. In a homemade breakfast. In a day off. In a hot drink with a mug so perfect it deserves an Instagram post. And it wasn’t even intentional, it was just my knee jerk reaction to “I feel blue”.
It’s so simple, so easy, so obvious…and yet I miss it every time.

He whispers, “In my presence is fullness of joy”. Are we listening?


Where have you found yourself looking for joy lately? On a cold, rainy day, is your instinct to look to Christ or somewhere else?