Living for Jesus: June 2014

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Thankful Thursday

844. The beautiful blues and greens of a Taos summer evening

845. The refreshing evening air after a warm day

846. Hearing Baby Boy's strong heartbeat today at our 38-week check-up

847. Isaac's happy smiles and delighted glee at the littlest things all day long

848. A great week of sports camps ministries

849. A new tooth for Isaac for which the only indication has been extra drool instead of the usual fever and fussiness (so far!)

850. Yummy summertime fruit

851. Fans throughout the house to keep things cool

852. The church's re-stucco project almost being done (before the baby's birth - yay!) and a new color that looks so much better!

853. Daily naps that help supplement for the lack of sleep at night

854. My strong and handsome husband! :)

Friday, June 20, 2014

Home Life Lately

These first few pictures are especially for Aunt Elizabeth. Isaac was so excited with the new, black shoes you sent him! He asked to wear them every day until Sunday when I finally let him...along with his new church clothes!

He was so proud of those new, black shoes!

Dapper little dude!

These are my 36-week pictures taken last week during VBS. (I am now 37 1/2 weeks...so I imagine I look even bigger!)

Another angle. Yes, I feel ready to pop!

With this pregnancy, I feel like I am all baby. With Isaac, my weight gain was a little more spread out, but this baby is definitely like a basketball - all right in front!

Isaac got his first hair trim yesterday, and this is all I have to show for it! Taking pictures during the process proved impossible since I was busy trimming while Daddy held him still.

And this was my attempt at snapping an after-shot. :)

Always on the move!

Discovering himself in the mirror without any clothes on...(and yes, all those smudges are compliments of my son who plays at the mirror all the time).

Hmm...can you see my muscles best from this angle...?

...or this one?

So pleased with himself!

Yep...I'm one handsome feller!

Don't you think, Mom?

Somebody was really tired yesterday! Can you tell it's been a busy month?

The birthing pool we hope to use for our upcoming home birth arrived this week. Isaac loves to climb in and out of the bin!

It's his new little nook!

Thursday, June 19, 2014

A VBS Report!

Greetings and salutations to my faithful blog readers!

Well, we made it! We made it to, through, and past a very life-consuming event known as Vacation Bible School (or VBS)! And best of all, it was a great success that I am grateful to look back on with no regrets...while also very grateful to be done with!

For several months, I poured myself into the directorship of this outreach, overseeing every detail such as recruiting workers, mapping out assemblies and lessons, practicing crafts, learning songs, buying supplies, figuring out decorations, organizing work days, and all the while praying that God would bring the children. Last year, we only had 15 children attend our VBS that a visiting mission team put on for us. This year, I asked the church to join me in praying for at least 30 children - double what we had last year. I was excited with our curriculum from Answers in Genesis called the International Spy Academy, and I knew the message of understanding who the one, true God is was desperately needed in this place called Taos where we live.

Well, the Lord truly blessed in every way and answered our prayers! We had an excellent team of workers who poured their hearts into making the week of VBS run smoothly and effectively. And perhaps most exciting of all was seeing 39 children and junior high students (whom we didn't even plan for) pour through our doors that first morning! The attendance grew to 43 on day 2 and 47 on days 3 and 4! I felt like I was witnessing a miracle right before my very eyes! Yes, there was some last-minute scrambling as we flexed to accommodate these numbers, but our teachers improvised beautifully and made what we had work for the children.

It was truly a thrill to watch this group of children and young people seem to really absorb the concepts being taught throughout the week about God, his trinitarian nature and attributes, and the message of salvation that is available only through His Son. They were like little sponges soaking it all in while having a wonderful time!

I have lots of pictures of the week to eventually share with you that were taken by our volunteer photographer, but I don't have access to those pictures right at this moment. So instead, I'll share with you the ones I took during the quiet moments of the first morning before our spy academy was bombarded with new agents-in-training. :) I was so pleased with how the decor came together and all the hard work that multiple volunteers put into making it look so fabulous!

Welcome to the International Spy Academy!

You'll have to clear security in order to enter the premises...

Please show your badge...or tell our security guard the day's secret password!

We had plans for three teams in keeping with the international part of the theme (but it turns out we could have had more teams with so many children)!

Spy boy on display.

A spy girl.

Another amazing looking secret agent!

And another one hanging out in France...

The stage was central to our opening and closing assemblies each day where the main lessons and concepts were taught.

The control panel.

A transformed sanctuary.

Meanwhile, down in the fellowship hall, some spy characters were waiting for the children...

The "lab" where Classified Crafts took place each day.

The missions room where the children watched a short video following their snack about a child in another country who doesn't have access to good food, clean water, etc. Not only did they learn about children in poverty, but also about the counterfeit gods and religions that characterize the countries where they live. The children who attended VBS raised around $175 for these children and the needs they learned about!

After the missions moment, we turned our attention to learning some really fun songs provided by Patch the Pirate and his Majesty Music team. :)

Not pictured are all the fun and games the children enjoyed at the park across the street and the yummy food they ate out back upon their return. But hopefully, those pictures will be coming soon!

It was an exciting, exhausting week full of blessing! We don't know all the ways that God was at work in their little hearts and lives, but we are confident that seeds were planted and important truths communicated that we now pray will take root and flourish!

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

VBS Workshop

I took these pictures a week and a half ago during a VBS workshop we held here at the church to prepare craft supplies and decorations. However, due to being extremely busy getting ready for the actual VBS itself, I haven't had the chance to post these pictures until now. We had a great time working together on these projects as a church family!