India.

After several months of praying and asking God for guidance, Southern Hubby and I have decided to forgo our yearly vacation and accompany our church on a mission trip to Karimnagar, India this October.

I'm terrified.

I've been to India before on one of SH's business trips. I was there a week; he was there a month. The experience changed me and I was never so homesick in my life. The country if full of a gorgeous culture and a generous people, but it's not America. I've seen firsthand the depravity and overwhelming poverty there.

Our five star hotel sat directly across from a posh country club. It also sat next to one of the biggest piles of garbage I've ever seen. Looking outside of my hotel room, I could see tents on top of the "landfill" and children playing and running barefoot.
 
Upon coming back, I often questioned why we are so abundantly blessed when the majority of others do not have access to food, clean water, education, adequate housing, etc. Why us? After many years of searching, God finally answered me- He wants us to share what He has so generously given us. Everything we have is not ours to keep.
 
Which is why we have to go. Even though I'm scared. Even though my stomach turns at the thought of the vaccines. Even though we need to raise $5000 to give to our missionary budget for flights, food, and hostel. We have to go. I have to give of myself to others that need it so much.
 
The picture above is of the 75+ fundraising letters we wrote and sent out. We don't plan on raising the full amount, so whatever is left over will come out of our 2011 vacation budget. Am I sad I don't get to spend a week on the beach sipping pina coladas and tanning? If I'm being honest, then yes. Very much so. But, even as scared as I am, I'm looking forward to connecting with the children in the orphanage we're working at. And I'm so fortunate to have the chance to leave a piece of my heart there- the very same one that God is still working on and changing.
 

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." -Ephesians 2:10

PS. To those who are getting one of our letters, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your willingness to learn more about our mission and to help, either financially, with prayer, or both. I know we could not have done this without your love and support. xo

PPS. Dont forget to enter my prayer journal giveway. Winners announced next Monday!

Prayer Journal Giveaway!

So many of you responded favorably to my prayer journal that I asked Jennifer at Walking with Him if she would like to sponser a giveaway. She was too sweet and agreed. A tool like this is something to share! So, we're giving away one prayer journal/guide/notebook to one lucky reader! Yay!

To enter simply tell us which color you want your prayer journal to be- grey or green. That's it!  I'll make this one easy. :) Also, if you don't have a blog, please leave your email address so I can contact you in case you win.

I'll pick a winner next Monday. Good luck and I truly hope this opens up a new chapter in your walk with Him. :)

Moving Day

[image - renest]

Hi Everyone, First of all let me say THANK YOU so much for all of your sweet comments about my baby bump.  It seems like it has doubled in size since I took that photo a little over 3 weeks ago.  I'll be sure to post another one soon. 

We've been getting ready for the move into our new house for what seems like months now.  It was actually only a month from the time we put in an offer to the time that we closed last Friday.  We've been running on total adrenaline ever since we closed though.  The removal of the wallpaper in the new den area has been the worst part of the whole experience, but it should all be over with today.  Our official move in date is this coming Friday.  We still have a ton to get done before that happens.  I wish I had some cute vintage suitecases to pack my things in like the picture above, but cardboard boxes seem to make things much easier.  I'll probably be MIA for a few more weeks until we get everything somewhat situated in the new place.  I'll be back with pictures of it as soon as possible.  Until then, please pray that I can keep my sanity before, during and after the move, and also keep this baby inside of me.  The last thing we need is an early arrival...for his sake and for ours. 

xoxo,

Cristi

My Prayer Journal

If you know me at all, you know I have a slight love affair with binders. They're pretty awesome. I think it stems back from my nerd-ness in college. I was obsessed with my class notes, often rewriting them if they weren't perfect. Yes, major geekiness, but I graduated Summa Cum Laude, so my anal retentiveness paid off.

Anyway, after purchasing this prayer tool for a friend's birthday, I decided that I wanted one. But I wasn't in love with the binder (I'm not a fan of displaying logos, hence my LV aversion) so I figured I could make my own. And I loved the results!

I simply ordered a small binder, some notebook paper that fit, section dividers, a daily planner and voila! A simple prayer journal that I could customize and fit my needs exactly! :) And bonus that the binder came with an attached little pocket for my pens and highligher! :)

I separated the notebook into four sections so far:

1. Daily Planner: Since I carry this around my house and to church functions, it seemed wise to put a planner inside. I gave my pretty 2011 planner to my younger (and much in need of organization) sister. 

2. Notes: I use this to take notes when I listen to mass or radio programs that I love to learn from. Most of the time, I just download them to my iPod and listen right after my quiet morning time. I mainly listen to the following...

• FamilyLife Today with Dennis Rainey (love this one!)
• Homemakers By Choice with Donna Otto
• The Village Church with Matt Chandler (while I love the majority of his messages, he can be a bit too much for me at times, just FYI

3. Thanks & Praise: I used this part of the notebook to worship, praise and give thanks to God for he    has done in my life. Sometimes I write out Bible verses that say it better than me. Other times I write out the song lyrics to wonderful songs that uplift him (My Sweet Lord by George Harrison is amazing and takes my breath away sometimes.) I often just write a list of gratitudes for that day. Even the smallest things show God you recognize His work in your life. ;)

4. Requests: Here is where I write down prayer requests that I have. I also use this place to write down the requests others have asked me to pray for. I once wrote down a request that was weighing heavily on my mind. The very next day, while listening to a particular sermon, God answered my request. It was amazing and so direct, I couldn't believe it. I'm hoping to be able to go back and see where He spoke to me regarding my petitions. Now, I have a record of them!

There are other tabs I'd like to use in the future. For example, a confessions one. Right now, I just confess while praying but I'd like to have the courage to actually write them down. It's such a private thing right now and I'm working up to putting it on paper.

I hope this inspires you to make one of your own and to spend some much needed time with God. I love, love this tool! It's such a wonderful aid that one can use to record their quiet time with God. It inspires me and motivates me to not rush through my prayer time. My life whizzes right by me when I don't slow down and I don't want to miss even one of His blessings.

If you don't feel like going through the trouble of making one, you can find them already made all over the Internet. Some good ones can be found here , here, here and here. Good luck! :)

The past couple weeks in a few pictures.

Geez Louise, it's been a while, huh?

I think I've lost my blogging mojo. What more do I have to talk about?

I suppose I could show you the cute carrying case I made for my 'teeth' as I like to call them. (I have Invisalign and I have to take the trays out and brush them after I eat- hence me carrying around a toothbrush and toothpaste everywhere. Let me assure you it's a super pain.)

Or I could tell you about the glorious way God told me "good morning!" the other day.

Or maybe you'd like to hear about the freaking delicious shrimp and pasta recipe I made last night? Thank you, Pioneer Woman. Thank you. It was ridiculous. Decadent and not good for my jean size, but ridiculous. :)

Oh! Oh! I forgot I wanted to tell you about the new caffeine free green tea I've been drinking! {{I've been reading Skinny Bitch (and you should, too)  and it mentions how horrible caffeine is, so I'm trying to give up my coffee. So hard.}} But I mix it with a couple drops of stevia and some almond milk and I'm good to go. (Many thanks to Sara for showing me the tea light. hee hee)

And when I show you this beautiful picture, please remember I drank these before I read Skinny Bitch. Yea, sugar is the devil. But these mangoritas are heaven.

I think next time we chat, I'll show you the prayer journal I've been working on. But I'll save that for our next convo. Besos to you all. xo

HIGH * LOW // 7 MONTHS PREGNANT

For $325 you can have this table from Serena & Lily…

or for $89 you could have this great look-a-like from The Company Store.

I don’t know about you but I personally like The Company Store’s tables better.  I’m really loving the turquoise and yellow ones. 

******************************************************

Over the weekend I hit the 7 month mark of my pregnancy.  Only 2 more to go!!!

LiveJournal Tags: serena and lily,the company store,pregnancy