What's happening in Good News Club???

I've been referring to this "Good News Club" and the details as to what we do there are somewhat hazy, so I've really been wanting to write a post all about Good News Club and what we do while we're there.

 It started the weekend before St. Patrick's Day in March. Our friend, Cilla, had gone through a Children's Evangelical Fellowship course where she was equipped with the ability to start a children's ministry.

 We walked around the neighborhood in Hobe Sound, knocking on doors and passing out fliers that said we would be at the park the next Saturday to play games, tell stories, sing songs, and have FUN!

Our main goal through this is/was to get to know the kids and be a GOOD example of Christ's love. We also know that every time we gather to be with them, we are planting the seeds of the gospel in their hearts. What the Holy Spirit does in their lives after this, is something we leave in God's hands.

 A usual Saturday goes like this: We arrive at 2 pm, Jonathan takes the basketball to the courts, and miraculously, neighborhood boys start to appear. It's been so cool to watch his relationships with those boys develop.

  If there are younger kids, they love to hang out with us girls, and tell us ALL about their lives. We love it :) 

After the guys are good and sweaty, they are super hot (thank you, Florida, for your brilliant heat) and thirsty. So we always make sure we have something cold for them to drink and food to snack on. 

 Then we open with prayer. We try to keep in mind that these kids may not know why we do certain things, so we always try to explain the meanings behind things; ie, why we pray :)

 After prayer we sing songs :) They are usually quite enthusiastic and make it lots of fun.

 After singing, we quote John 3:16 from a poster board. We had 6 students quote it from memory 4 months after our first meeting! So amazing to see this progress!

 Then we go into the story for the day. We take turns doing this part so we all get a chance to tell the GOOD NEWS!

 During this time we are sure to fold the gospel story of how Jesus came to die for all of us because He loves us so much He wanted to save us from our sins so we can live with Him in Heaven!

It's been such a blessing to be a part of this :) All praise goes to Jesus! :)

Of course, I'll end with a silly group shot, because what is kids ministry without silliness?? :)

The story behind the lost iPad

Ever had a test on something that you considered useless information only to find yourself months later wishing you had paid better attention because suddenly you need the same info that was on the test? OH YES, I've been there, and more recently I live there.

As a teacher-minded individual, I've become acutely aware of how much of INSPIRATIONAL teacher God is, in the past 6 months especially. If only I could have taken a few courses under Jesus' tutelage...guesss that's why we have the Bible right?

Things keep happening. Things that frustrate me so much I literally want to pull out my hair, and the only reason I haven't actually done so is vanity driven more than anything else. Things that I have ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL over. UGH. 

So let me be transparent with you, I failed most of these tests. But it seems God wanted to see success, so He kept testing me until progress was made. Above all, I want it to be clear that this is not a "complaint" blog post. Rather, I want it to be a testimony of how faithful God is, even when I feel like He's failing me.

Test #1: Lost vehicle keys

No, I don't mean the spare, I mean the ONLY key set for my husband's bike. We looked everywhere and even combed a huge field with the kids I nanny (for the extra sets of eyes, hey, 1 yr old can help too :) This eventually cost $75 to have a new key made. Not fun to spend that money on something that we JUST had in hand 4 days before.

Test#2: Accident involving someone else's vehicle

Worst part is, I had asked him to do a favor for me, and because of my not so great attitude, it lead him to be hasty and act without taking a few necessary precautions, ending in a nice $250 price tag. It was like I got the wind knocked out of me.

Test#3: Dental Office Surprise

Being newlyweds (yes, I still say we are :) brings many new things. Things like sitting in the dentist's chair knowing that every sharp jab they inflict on your mouth is making your wallet so much lighter. In this case, I went to pay for our "routine" cleanings, when the office informed me that my husband was having a "deep" cleaning done that would cost a mere $275. I literally had them take me back to where Jonathan was to see if I could stop the madness! Nope, they were half way through and there was nothing I could do. So we paid  a bunch of arms and legs...again.

In everyone of this incidents, I did NOT act like the model wife. I kept asking WHY. WHY is this stuff happening? Doesn't God know that we have to save up a HUGE amount of money and all these mishaps and bills keep pilfering away at our savings?

Was I having faith? Was I showing grace to my husband? Was I being slow to anger and thoughtful before I spoke? Nope, no, and a big fat negativ-o. What a disgrace, after everything we've seen God do so far. BUT IT WAS SO UNFAIR!!! (Can't you just imagine me stomping my feet?) Yet, I kept coming back to Jonathan with apologies for my bad attitude, and promises that I'd do better next time. And it seemed that every time I would still fail the test. It seems God wasn't ready to leave me as a woman that was great at saying "sorry" a bunch of times. Behold yet another test awaited me.

Test#4: Lost iPad

Oh, say it ain't so... But oh yes it's true.

We took it to church last Sunday like we always do, so we could access the YouVersion Bible App. After church, we took our time talking to friends and visiting with others. Jonathan's mom was here with us from Kansas, so he and she headed to the car before I did. Evidently, Jonathan had approached the car, and set the iPad on the roof to take off his suit coat. He sat down in the car, looked around for the iPad and when he saw the suit coat in the back seat, he assumed it was under the coat. I came out the car, got in and away we drove to our 45 minute destination.

That night, we were getting ready for evening church, and I went to grab the iPad and...panic. No. Where. Gone. And then he remembered...

That trip to church that evening was a fairly quiet one. I did a lot of thinking. Inward bemoaning. Ohhhh....whyyyyyy?? But I kept my mouth shut this time. When we got to church I saw one of the pastors and asked if anyone had  heard or seen anything. Our first glimpse of hope. Yes! A woman had seen the iPad slide off the car and stayed around to see if anyone knew who it belonged to. But no one was at the church and no contact information had been shared. But at least we knew SOMEONE had it... That night in church, Pastor Gordeuk preached, and at one point he was sharing about forgiveness and it hit me right between the eyes. I realized that if I didn't forgive Jonathan right then, I would have to go through many more  of these "tests" and would have my conscience later to recon with. The Holy Spirit convicted me right then and there. Now it was my turn to make the choice. So I leaned over, and with a shaky whisper uttered the words, "Jonathan, I forgive you."

Suddenly, I was like a different person. My heart's song changed. I felt like dancing, and it was then that I realized that the real battle had been won.

Monday came and we kept calling the church office and nobody had heard anything new. I know that we both were offering silent prayers every time the iPad would cross our minds. It wasn't the financial loss of this technology that really bothered us, but instead, it was a gift from my parents. Jonathan felt horrible. I know that he felt irresponsible and completely negligent. But the Holy Spirit was helping me keep my mouth shut and just show Jonathan love and grace.

Tuesday came and still not a word but the Holy Spirit showed me in my devotions that morning the passage in John 14 that we should pray using Jesus name.So I did pray in Jesus name asking that the iPad would be delivered back to us, but ONLY if it was God's will. I was prepared to lose the iPad if He knew we didn't need in our lives anymore. I've learned that he knows what we need more than we know what we need. Jonathan also was able to pray with a group of his guy friends in Bible study that we would be able to find our ipad.

Finally, Wednesday morning arrived. Jonathan called to say good morning that; he didn't give me any new information. About two hours later he called again. This time he asked me if I had prayed specifically for the iPad.

"You're not going to believe this."

He had gone into the shop to clock out for work and looked down at the bench to see a black portfolio. It took him a few seconds to recognize what it was and suddenly he knew. God had placed the iPad back in our hands. We have no idea who found it or who brought it to his work, but this could only be an act of God because there was not a scratch on the iPad and it had 97 percent battery left.

Unbelievable. All that to teach me how to navigate stressful situations without having to apologize all over myself later? But you know what? It was worth every moment. Everything happens for a reason; so we may become more like Jesus Christ, and I pray that I will continue to remember what I learned. I know I'll never be able to look at that machine again without remembering the lesson I learned through it's lost and found story.

Here is our reminder of God's GRACE just as we lost/received  it

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come." **

Throughout our lives there are special days that we should recognize and celebrate, and one of those days just recently passed in Jonathan and my life. Since this blog is about us, I will indulge and write a bit to commemorate our 1st year as a married couple. July 1, 2011 we both said "I do" aboard the old steamboat, USS Virginia V, on Lake Union in Seattle, WA. This year has flown by and so I shall memorialize the occasion by posting a few pictures from a few special times from our first year.

Honeymoon in Mexico

Friends over on Sunday nights

As we looked back on our first year married, we reminisced on the sweet and the sour moments we experienced. We giggled at some of the things that happened, rolled our eyes at mistakes we made out of stubbornness, felt awe in the blessings that had been sent our way, and thanked God for His tangible presence in every twist and turn we encountered. We realized that even in the sour moments, God's grace provided a sweet conclusion to those bumpy spots on life's road. Not a day has gone by that I don't tell Jonathan how thankful i am to be his wife. I honestly feel like God knew what kind of man I needed to be a wife to and have as a husband. Jonathan is my perfect combination of strengths, weaknesses, and challenges all wrapped into a tall, dark and very handsome man. Daily he acts as my spiritual leader and spurs me on in my pursuit of Christ. He keeps a smile on my face as he performs the monotonous tasks of life with his boyish antics and zest. I love him deeper than I thought was possible and I can't imagine life with out his strong callused hand somewhere right beside mine.

Saturday dates

Visiting with cousins

Harvest Party

In the next year, I look forward to embarking on a dream we had as a dating couple. To go on a missions adventure together. Through our Good News Club in the park we've recently begun to teach lessons together, and I look forward to doing much more of this "working together thing" and fine tuning our capabilities. Again, it's so incredible to see how God matched our strengths to compliment each other.

Thanksgiving with my family

Our 1st Christmas Tree

Finally, I just want to say that there are so many beautiful blessings to those that choose to follow and serve our Risen savior. Following Christ is not just something that we name ourselves (Christians), but its something that is interwoven and "unintanglable" for every aspect of our lives. Living a life of faith can sometimes feel like the adrenaline rush of cliff jumping, but God has never let us crash once into water that was too shallow. He always provides a way to jump into the deep refreshing waters of praise. What an awesome Savior we serve!

A beautiful picture our photographer (and most importantly) our dear friend Erica of Erica j Photography shot of us ONE Year after "I do" :)


**Quote by Mother Teresa

Care to toss a pebble?

A woman was found in the arms of a man that was not her husband. Due to the laws of the people, she was to be put to death, immediately, by stoning. The few that found her called out to those passing by to advertise her shame as they dragged her through the streets. Suddenly the woman was thrown at the feet of Jesus who was teaching a crowd of people. Her shame deliberately exploited by her accusers, and they demanded that Jesus judge her right then and there. But did he?

 Something I’ve never thought about until this morning is that throughout Jesus’ life he faced the negative judgment of others. Usually I would put Jesus in a position of being the “judger” (being able to see the heart of man in its candid ugly state) but my eyes were opened this morning while I read in the book of John.  In chapter 8: 15 Jesus says “You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone.” And bam. That hit me right between the eyes. I’ve liked to think that I don’t judge people, and I would be friends with anyone that would let me, but judgment is so much more deep seeded than that. Jesus just stated right there that HE DOESN’T JUDGE ANYONE, and here I am mentally dissecting people’s lives that I know because “if they would just change a few things, or think this way they would be a lot better off.” Wow, I’m a “judger”. He goes on to say in the next verse “And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me.” So if it isn’t Jesus’ place to judge (even having the correct judgment due to his omniscience), do we have any right as Christ followers to look cock-eyed at a single person on this planet??? Absolutely NOT! So what did Jesus do instead? He showed absolute love and mercy in the most tender way even when he had every ability to point the hard finger of guilt when her accusers had all the evidence.

Jesus, to address the demands of the woman’s accusers, directed their accusations back at them.  “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” After her accusers had all slunk away, Jesus said “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” And you just know that every one of the accusers left that scene muttering to one another about the way he favored ill mannered women. The ones with sin. Casting judgment on Jesus. Our audacity as human beings. I’m still shaking my head.

When any person spends much time at all in a ministry of some sort, they generally encounter situations and people that would entice them to judge. Why? Because ministry involves people, and people with or without Jesus Christ in their lives make mistakes and fail, and as onlookers we always seem to know better than the person that was in the situation. Jonathan and I have been working with a group of friends at a local park. Every Saturday we meet to spend time with the kids in the neighborhood and get to know them, play games with them, share the Bible with them, and when possible get to know their parents. When one of the parents opened up to me and began to share what her life is like, it was so easy to mentally pull her life apart and “know” what she really needed to do to fix things. Wow. And I don’t even know her last name! But what would Jesus have thought while he listened to her share? What did He think about the woman that was thrown at His feet for adultery? Compassion. Being so moved he responded with love, and He spoke up for her This is exactly how I should respond; I should bring this parent to our Heavenly Father who created her and knows how she got the place she is, and let the Holy Spirit move in her life just as He is so faithful to do in mine. If only our hearts and minds would follow the way we know Jesus has asked us to walk. With love for all people in this world. After all, isn’t that what John 3:16 is about? That God so loved THE WORLD that He did something about it.

My prayer and hope is that from now on, we won't just pity someone's sad state in life, but we will respond with Christ's compassion and do something to show His love.