Hello from Hungary

Well, we have made it! After 17 hours of traveling, we landed in Budapest around 11:45 this morning (that is 4:45 am B'ham time). We drove through Budapest on our way into Diosd. As you can imagine, we are exhausted but have been able to keep pushing through to overcome the jetlag. Tonight's sleep will be amazing. :) Tomorrow we are off to Lake Balaton to meet the Paulus Youth ministry. They are finishing up their annual church retreat. We will spend the day with them preparing for next week's youth camp outreach.

I will post a few pictures soon, but for more updates visit the Youth Blog!

Sweet Summertime

Well, for many people Summer began in June, but for Joe and I this past weekend was our first time to get away and relax, spending a lot of time in the sun and enjoying time with our families. We spent the July 4th weekend with our families at the Densons' lakehouse. It was great to get away with no agenda and eat, sleep, and have fun on the lake. It truly felt like a mini-vacation and I was so thankful for that time. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

(Me and my parents...I was so glad they came!)

(Joe and Bear going for a swim.)

(Lura, Ms. Martha, and Mrs. Denson enjoying the sun)

(Dad enjoying a nap with the dogs)

Next up...Hungary and Peru. I leave on July 16-26, then Joe goes to Peru July 30-August 9. We are so excited but will appreciate your prayers. I will keep you all posted. :)

Hale County and a New Beginning

I had the privilege of going with the youth on a mission trip to Hale County, which is part of the Black Belt. It was an eye opening experience for me as I find myself thinking that taking the Gospel to the nations skips our own community and state. I realize that is very ignorant on my part, but for some reason it's easier and more comfortable for me to pray for and participate in global mission, but I so rarely consider the needs of those so close to me!

Hale County is in a poorer part of Alabama, however, the people we worked with were full of joy and content with what they had! We started our day by serving on work projects and ended with a day camp for kids. They were so excited to see us as many had participated in our camp 2 years ago. We shared many Bible stories with them and several of our youth shared how Christ had changed their lives and shared about some of the challenges of growing up. It was great to see young people sharing their faith and truly reaching out to the kids.

I will say that I was the hottest I have ever been in my life and at times I had to remind myself of my purpose on the trip and ultimately on this earth! However, I never heard a complaint from the youth as they demonstrated Christ's love by dying to their selves and serving despite the conditions we were in.

So on to the new beginning...I am making a small career transition as I am going to be the new youth "intern". So this week was a great time for me to get to know the youth that I didn't know and grow closer to the ones I did! I am so excited about this. Through different circumstances in my life, the Lord is showing me that this IS what he has for me at this time and that I am in the midst of his GREAT PLAN! I'm so excited this is part of it! :)

In closing (I sound like I'm preaching a sermon), I want to share a verse that a sweet friend reminded me of a few weeks ago. It's Proverbs 16:9 and somehow I had missed it all these years.

"The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."

~ Our group ready for a hard day's work!

~ Spelling LOVE after a Bible story on love...I think we lost the "E"

~ The sign before we started painting (an after shot will be posted later)

~ Getting creative on how to reach the top of the sign!

~ Enjoying some shade while planting the shrubs.

~ She said "Child, sit down...I'm gonna do your hair"...so I did. :)

~ Katherine and Mary Claire - hard workers!

~ Christian and I in the midst of digging.

~ walking down the dirt road...it's like a scene in a movie

~ Sweet Ceyen. Victoria was helping him put together his game that he won.

A little catching up...

Well, it's been a while since I've posted.  I knew that keeping up with a blog would be a challenge for me.  I hope to get better and better especially throughout the summer as I have more time and more to blog about.  But, to back track a little I wanted to share about Joe's 10K race he ran over Memorial Day...

He was challenged to do this after running a relay leg of the Mercedes Marathon back in February.  Then after being challenged by himself he was challenged by my father!  He couldn't let him down!  So Joe agreed to run and hoped to have plenty of training along the way.  Well, most of you know he has been engulfed with P90X, doing a workout each morning (or evening) to try to keep up.  He has accomplished this goal and this week will complete his 90 day workout...that was all a side note to say he really did not have much "training" time for the race.

So, as race day approached on Memorial Day, Joe felt far from ready to take on a 10K (6.4 miles).  I even persuaded him to wait and run it next year.  However, he RAN and finished the race with endurance!  It was so fun to see him come across the finish line.  I felt like a proud parent.  Here are a few pictures to recap the day:

~ It's like "Where's Waldo"...can you find Joe?

Our Anniversary Celebration

As I mentioned earlier, Joe and I have been married for 3 years and had a great time celebrating our 3rd Anniversary on April 22.  It's been a busy month and with our anniversary falling mid-week we did not plan a special weekend getaway (plus we had just gone to NYC).  

So, we went to dinner at Hot and Hot Fish Club.  Neither of us had ever been there, but after Wednesday, it has risen to 2nd Place on our list of Birmingham favorites.  Flemings will probably always be our #1.  It was an amazing night and truly a special way to spend our anniversary together.  

 

3 Years of Bliss

I cannot believe it!  It has been 3 years since Joe and I said our vows, pledging our lives to one another and to the Lord.  It has truly been an incredible 3 years.  Sure there have been some "hard times" but the JOY of being married to such a wonderful man is worth it all!  These are my TOP 10 things I love about my sweet husband: (in no particular order)

1. Joe is very patient with me even though I can be a bit hard to handle at times (I know none of you can imagine that).

2. He is an incredibly godly man who leads me and sets a great example for me.

3. I know one day he will be a great father - hopefully to little boys who can throw the baseball with him (I gave up trying a long time ago).

3. He has a funny, goofy sense of humor.  Even though his quiet, mature side is what most people see, others of you know what I'm talking about!!!  :)

4. He makes my lunch almost every morning!!  While I know this is mostly to save money, I think it's incredibly sweet.

5. He is very devoted to all that he does (including P90x).

6. He always encourages me and makes me feel beautiful and special (and as girls, we have moments where we definitely don't feel this way).

7. He makes me feel good about my cooking even when I know it's not that great.

8. He has a heart for others and truly cares for others' interests before his own.

9. He knows how I like my coffee and makes it perfectly every time.

10. He reminds me often of our vows and the commitment we made to one another and to our Lord.  He keeps us both focused as we continue this wonderful journey together!

Well, I will definitely update after our Anniversary dinner tonight!  Thank you for your sweet calls and emails, wishing us a Happy Anniversary.  It truly is a blessing and a joy to reach another year together!

The right fit...

Well, I have been blogging for 2 weeks now.  I'm not quite comfortable with the blogging because I don't have a catchy name and I am constantly wanting to change the background!  I have decided...BLOGGING IS LIKE SHOPPING FOR NEW SHOES!  You have to keep trying new things until you get the right fit!  So, here it goes...I'm changing my background.  It just wasn't the right fit for my blog.  :)