Nap time

I stole this off someone's been up 2 page, but I laughed out loud when I saw it. Poor kid.

Bodies

I went on a field trip today with my preschoolers. After they got on the bus I stuck around the little museum place to see the Bodies Exhibit. I have to say overall I was disappointed. It was shorter than I thought it was going to be. There was a lot of reading too which I expected, but I guess I was a little sleepy from counting heads all morning that I really had to concentrate harder than usual on what I was reading. The dyed blood vessels and the baby section were my favorite. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing to think how God crafted all the different systems of our bodies, but the exhibit was just shorter than I thought it would be.

In other news, I feel like I'm running out of things to write about. Sad for me. Oh well, I'm sure the drive home with Dad will produce some material. Down to 6 more days in Cali.

Mayday Jesus

The Redding Newspaper has a section on their website labeled "Strange News". I found this article there. Doesn't sound strange to me, sounds like a normal day in the Kingdom. :)

And the winners are...

Jillian and Fin gave me these mugs for my birthday with a bunch of yummy tea. Don't these just make you smile? I smile not only because they're incredibly cute, but also because they make me think of Jilly and Fin. And props to them for getting a fabulous gift simply by remembering my favorite animal and the fact that I love tea. Very creative and unexpected. Love you guys.


My other favorite is my new ear phones. I was a little scared when I saw the skull (just looks like a little alien blob thanks to my phone camera) on the side of the ear bud, so I read some reviews before I opened the package. After reading some good reviews I decided to try out the "skullcandy" product...they are fabulous. Quite comfy and amazing sound. I'm listening to Narnia:Prince Caspian soundtrack right now...such good music. (Good movie by the way too, saw it yesterday.) Thanks for doing the hunt, Dad, and to Mom who most assuredly did the shopping. :D

Thanks for all the birthday voicemails as well. :)

The Perfect Ending to the New Beginning

I have officially graduated Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. It's so bittersweet. I started off the night discovering that I had an aisle seat. Why? Because Jesus loves me. We had a super short time of worship, 20 minutes, which is so unusual for Bethel, but we had 600 graduates to get through plus speeches. There were some personal favorite songs sung (Light of Your Face-Misty Edwards, one of Brian's new songs This is What Heaven Look Like or something like that, Oh Happy Day), but the atmosphere was so electric with the Holy Spirit that it probably wouldn't have mattered what songs we sang. When it finally came time to walk across the stage I was overflowing with joy and gratitude at what Jesus allowed me to do this year. It was such an amazing opportunity. Thankfully they pronounced my name correctly and said I was from Cincinnati, not Cleves. Thank you Jesus. My favorite bible teacher handed me my diploma and then I got to hug Kris Vallotton and Beni & Bill Johnson. Mark Brookes and Bernie Ooley also were giving out hugs at the bottom of the steps. You may be thinking that I have some new found love of hugs and while that is not necessarily the case, it was amazing to be that close to kings and queens, mommas and papas, and forerunners in the Kingdom.

The evening was rounded off with a beautiful full moon and a delicious bowl of ice cream with my best buddies Jillian and Fin. It was pretty perfect. And now, I must go to bed because I still have to go to work in the morning. ;)

I'm coming for you Dunkin'

Less than a month until I get to taste the best donuts on the planet again.

No problem mon

My car is fine. Turns out a bolt from the A/C was loose; apparently it was not tightened enough the last time they worked on it. Thank you Jesus.

This may be the shortest post ever, but I have nothing else to say. :D

Car Woes

Had to take my vehicle to the Honda dealer AGAIN. This is getting old. I love my car, feel fabulous in it, all that good stuff, but I've never heard of such a young Honda needing so many repairs. Since I have arrived in California I've had to replace the water pump, rear differential, and the complete air conditioning unit. To Honda's credit, they have been wonderful about giving me a break on the cost of repairs, but geez louise, give me a break. I have no idea what's wrong with it now, but I hate not having a car. Yesterday when I put it in reverse, it made this awful grinding and then a clunk noise. When I put it in drive it was fine, but a few minutes down the road it started vibrating horribly and then grinding when I accelerated. Today when I started it I thought the engine was going to drop out it because it was so loud and shaky. I made it to Honda, wrote them a little love note, and walked home.

The walk home was good. It was a gorgeous morning and I walked across a bridge over the river. I'm really going to miss the river and the scenery here. Everything is kind of centrally located around the river, so I'm by it a lot. I stopped and got a Starbucks on the way home and the lady asked me if I was a mom. (I guess I looked old today or something.) I politely said no although I can't wait to be one and she said, "Oh not yet anyway." That's right, thank you very much, I'll take that for myself.

I missed church this morning, but apparently it turned into a healing meeting again. Bill was praying for people and then Danny Silk got up on stage and was completely drunk. Even though I only have a few weeks left at Bethel, I enjoyed my walk this morning and don't really feel guilty about missing church. :)

I did some packing today. I was supposed to save that for when school is done and I have nothing to do in the afternoons, but I was bored today, so I got it done. 26 more days until departure...

Relevant

Well da boyz have gone back to Cincinnati and I'm left here to wrap up my year. I know I've said it a thousand times, but I can't wait to get back home!

I heard an amazing speaker yesterday at school, Mario Murillo. Very dynamic, in your face, this is my opinion speaker. Just the way I like it. He was talking about relevance and it was sooooooo good. I can't stand it when churches water everything down to be relevant to a certain people or age group. What we possess in the Kingdom of God is so amazing that we should just be who we are. Raw power and the love of God will draw people in. People don't need another seeker friendly church where they can here an uplifting message about how great we are or a message about how wrong they are and they better repent or they're going straight to hell. People need authenticity, love, and people who can back up what they preach. People need an ENCOUNTER with the love and power of Jesus. Being in tune with the Holy Spirit is relevant because He'll tell you what to do and what to say to people to be relevant.

Such good stuff. Can't wait to download it and listen to it again.

Stuff you prolly already knew

I thought maybe I should blog before another week passes by.

Jon and Don are here! It's great to have some of my favorite people from home, here in Redding. I think they're enjoying their experience at Bethel (for the Pastor's Leaders Advance Conference), but I'm sure they are being filled with more than they realize right now. I can't even comprehend everything I've gained in the last nine months, but I'm doing my best to wrap my mind around it. I only wish I had more time to hang out with my amigos while they're here, but exactly one month from today I'll start the trek home to Cincy. Now that is something to get excited about. Yet another person at Bethel asked me what I would be doing once I got home, but the answer is still the same, "I have no idea (with a bit of a nervous laugh)". However, it's all good and I'll just carry the Kingdom wherever I go. :D

My preschoolers are so stinkin' cute. It's going to be ridiculously hard to say goodbye at the end of the year. I wish I could find a job like this back home until I get my dream job. :D

Nothing else is really shaking, so over and out.

Just kidding. I totally forget to post (I think) that I saw river otters at the river the other day. It was AMAZING! I know, easily amused, but they were so cute. Now, I'm done for real.

Lightning Bugs

I've become one of those people who has a blog and doesn't blog. Oh no.

Not much to update on, just finishing up the school year. One of our bible teachers got totally blasted today on stage. She never did give her lecture. She was drunk and on the floor for her alloted time, so we just turned God TV on the big screens and watched the healing revival. It was so good.

Today was also the last day for outreach. We went to this really cool park and had pizza with the kids we mentor. It was pretty fun. I went swinging for the first time in months, maybe even years. I love swinging, it's one of the best things to do on the planet. It's relaxing and so joyful at the same time. I'm definitely going to have a swing set when I grow up.

One of my friends on outreach is from Georgia and we were talking about how we really miss the east coast (even though we don't live on the coast). I've loved being in Redding, but Cincinnati is one of the coolest cities in the world. I know many would roll their eyes at this, but we have some really cool things to do. Baseball and football games on the river, the Aronoff center ( I do love a good musical), Music Hall, not to mention some cool restaurants. Redding has us beat on parks and outdoor activities, but we can pray in a river trail. And...we have lightning bugs. Can you imagine a summer without lightning bugs? I can't. I have a friend on outreach who has never seen one her entire life. That my friends, is sad. It's the small things in life that matter.