The Importance of Community in the Church

Nate and I began going to our church a little over 2 years ago. From the very first Sunday, I immediately feel in love with the worship and the pastor. I felt convicted from that very first message and was stunned at the truth revealed in that service. We continued to go to that church week after week and I felt my cup being filled with the Word each Sunday we attended. We didn't know very many people (other than the students who went to the college with us that attended our church) so we didn't have much connection. Soon we became part of the Welcome team and each Sunday we stand at the doors and hand out announcements packets. As an effort to connect more in the church this became very important to our Sunday morning routine. We love seeing each face walk in the doors and being able to greet them and welcome them to church. As much as we enjoy greeting every Sunday, we still felt like we were not truly connecting to our church other than face value.
Our church has a program called connect (much like a small group, bible study, or life group that other churches have). We made the decision to join a group last September and currently meet with young married couples. Together we share life and break open the Word. I cannot stress how much this group has changed my spiritual journey. I see now more than ever the importance of these times. The time we have, just spent in prayer for one another moves mountains. I believe there are several reasons why I would encourage anyone to join a small group or bible study.
1. It is essential to our growth in the church to have these connections.

Attending church is a Wonderful thing, but is all too often taken at face value. It is vital to our spiritual growth to connect with other believers in a small setting. 

2. The purpose of small groups is to expand disciples.

As a small group ministry, our goal is to build up leaders in the church. We meet with the intention of growing into spiritual leaders and eventually having our group dissipate and beginning new groups as leaders. The point of a small group is simple- to grow! Growth is so evident in these times. Our discussions help us grow as friends, grow as a family, and essentially grow in our faith.

3. Prayer is a powerful thing 

How often are we asked to pray for someone and agree, yet postpone or forget to pray for them. I heard a very convicting message this week at chapel about how we as Christians lack in our promises to pray for one another. We can all admit to this. The great thing about small groups is that prayer is such a focus. We share life together- both struggles and joys and prayer fervently there for one another. There is no such comforting feeling than hearing others lift your needs up to The Lord. And it doesn't stop there. Many many times we email and text one another with prayer updates and questions. It is an amazing love between our group, and to think of all who could be missing out on such a love burns my heart.

4. Accountability is vital to our faith journey

We as the church and as individuals need to be held accountable in our walk. Being a part of a small group makes it easier to be held accountable and allows us the opportunity to help others stay accountable as well. Being in a small group with various ages is great because we get to Learn from one another and can connect through our life journeys. It is easy to find connections in life and receive help and encouragement during troubling times. 

Wellspring Weekend

This past weekend my husband and I had the joy of serving at a camp near and dear to our hearts- Wellspring Camp in Jefferson,Ga. The camp is designed for kids and adults with special needs or developmental disabilities and aims to teach them about Christ. This is an amazing opportunity, and Nate and I always look forward to the weekends because we love the connections with the campers and their families. This particular event we went to an aquatic center and spent a few hours in the pools then headed over to our favorite place ever... Stevie B's! The campers had a great time playing in the water- even the ones that were unable to swim by themselves got to play in the water!
The reason I love this ministry so much is because of the care that each servant has for the individual campers. We always look forward to seeing their smiles and experiencing the hugs and stories every event. Nate and my hearts are greatly grounded in the camp ministry and we plan to one day open our own camp ministry. Please pray for camp ministries like Wellspring and the opportunities we have to reach the nations through little events like this. To learn more about Wellspring Camp or how you can get involved, visit http://www.wellspringcamponline.com/  or visit their Facebook Page

Quiet Day at Home

Today my parents left after visiting us on their way back down to Florida from moving my older sister up to Virginia. Nate's friend Cay came in shortly after for a visit, so they took Pawley and left to explore. Pearl and I have had a great day napping, cleaning the house, and listening to Bethel Pandora. Hope everyone is having a good day. Chaos starts soon so I'm glad I have a day off of work to rest and prepare myself!

Giveaway!

I'm doing my very first giveaway! To enter your name into this drawing subscribe to the blog or comment below between now and January 25th!

Set of 4 coasters made by my wonderful husband and myself! Great for coffee or cold drinks!

Season for Change

I am the type of person who typically quits everything I start. I am very predictable because of that fact. However, I am only human so who can blame me, AND I am a woman, which makes my emotions flare so I blame that for my indecisiveness. For example, in the mornings it takes me a minute to decide which coffee mug to use, and what to pack for lunch, and don't even get me started on how long it takes me to pick out an outfit or decide how to fix my hair. Lord bless my husband for putting up with the piles and piles of clothes that I have decided don't fit, are too wrinkled, are the wrong color for my complexion, or have an ink stain the size of an ant on that cause me to toss them aside in the mornings. At least I know I have a hard time making decisions and sticking with them. Every big decision I have made in my life I have backed out on and now looking back I tend to smack myself in the face for giving up so easily on myself.
The reason I bring this all up is because I am in a season of change. I have decided to go back to college (changing my major for the umpteenth time). But this time is different! I am motivated to finally accomplish something meaningful in my life. I don't want to continue to look back and wonder why I didn't believe in myself. Nate has truly been a blessing in this indecisive time of my life and he has really helped me sort myself out. Please pray that I would be successful in going back to school and working full time and that the Lord would provide strength, sanity, and funds for Nate and I both to go to school at the same time.

Pearl

We have a new puppy! Her name is Pearl and she is a 6 week old Husky/Boxer mix. Pawley was a little jealous at first but together they have learned how to get along and to play together. It is nice for Pawley to have a little buddy around the house. She likes to stand over her little sister and protect her from the vacuum and nudge her butt up the steps to our house.  Get a wiff of this cuteness.

The Meaning of My Marriage

Having been married for almost 6 months I can safely say I know more and more each day about my husband, however I do not know nearly a percentage of what I will one day about the meaning of marriage or my husband (if that made any sense).
Searching through Scripture Sunday morning before we left for church I was drawn to Proverbs 12:4.

"A wife of noble character is her husbands crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones."

After coming upon these words I was immediately lead to pray that I reflect the wife of noble character, that my actions would resemble a noble wife, and that I would be obedient to my husband Nate.
I then asked Nate what I, as his wife could improve on. Striking his interest he questioned why I was bringing up this topic. I then read him the verse and described to him how I feel like my actions do not always reflect a Godly wife role as it should. He explained to my that as a husband, reading that verse meant more than action. A wife of noble character is a wife that respects her husband, loves her husband, and above all shows him those not only by action but by attitude.
I will be the first to admit that I am far from the perfect wife and that my attitude the majority of the time is not reflective of the Lord toward Nate. I often find myself frustrated at all the "responsibilities" I signed for when I said "I Do" and blame him for my stress. Don't get me wrong I LOVE doing the laundry, and cooking, and cleaning, and being the bread-winner and bread maker of the family. I LOVE feeling needed so much and feeling like my role as a wife is essential to our household.
To be that wife of noble character I am called to do more than act. It is my motivation behind my actions that speak louder than what I am doing. Having dinner ready on the table when Nate gets home is wonderful, and I know he appreciates it (when that does actually happen), however, to go above and beyond as a wife of noble character is to listen to my husband, to put his needs above my own, even if that means I have to set aside something I feel is more important. To be obedient to Nate in both action and in spirit is far beyond something that I can explain.
Walking down the aisle on our wedding day I was filled with so much passion and emotion toward the man that I now call mine. That same desire I had on our wedding day to follow him, must be a daily acknowledgement. I am not fulfilling my vow to Nate if I do not pursue him daily and be mindful of his needs, Nor am I fulfilling my vow if I do not show him love through my actions AND my attitude.

Cold Comes to Toccoa

This past week we have experienced a cold front come through our little town. It has been a great adjustment for both Nate and I because I am from Florida and he is from the Philippines. We made it through together though bundled up at night next to our space heaters! Waking up Tuesday morning we could see our breath inside! Thankfully the cold has moved on and we are back to being comfortable until the next little bout of winter comes our way.

Ode to 2013

Freezer Meals For 2

One of my New Year's resolution has been to find ways to simplify the crazy chaotic daily gunk I encounter. Today with the help of my friend Amanda I took on the adventure of cooking my meals for the month. Working full time, I find it difficult to find motivation to cook a meal every night when I get home.  This way having all my meals frozen, I can drop something in the crock pot in the mornings before I leave, or heat up something when I get home. After sitting down and planning out the meals for the month I did my grocery shopping and began all the prep work. Blaring n'sync pandora, Amanda and I started with beef dishes.
We prepared 4 batches of Spaghetti ( my husband grew up having spaghetti every Monday night so we have kept that tradition alive), meatloaf, chili, burgers, stuffed peppers, and taco soup.
Moving to chicken we made chicken salad, friend rice and homemade eggrolls, Greek chicken, and chicken bacon lasagna.
Finding a sale on steak I decided to splurge and cook baja steak tacos, and a southwest pepper steak.
Soups: minestrone, and 2 batches of baked potato soup
And then sausage tomato basil pasta to wrap it up.
It took us just a few hours and two loads of dishes before we had our freezer stocked.
Below are a few of the recipes! Hope you enjoy.

Stuffed Peppers:
Cored Peppers (I sliced mine in half for stoage purposed)
1 lb ground beef browned
1 cup onion finely chopped
dash of garlic salt
salt and pepper 
A can of tomato sauce
(cooked rice optional) we decided to eat ours on the side
Cook at 350 for 40ish minutes

Meatloaf: 
1 pound of ground meat
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped and sautéed in skillet with a little oil
Thyme (a couple of sprigs chopped or use a couple shakes of dried).
Rosemary (a couple of sprigs chopped or use a couple shakes of dried).
2 or three slices of dried bread finely chopped or made into bread crumbs 
2 well beaten eggs
½ to ¾ cup of Ketchup
4-6 strips of raw bacon (cut in half)
Salt and pepper
Couple of shakes of garlic salt Add the onion and seasoning mixture to the meat in a large mixing bowl and add the 
ketchup.
Add the bread crumbs and beaten eggs
Mix the meat and the mixture well and form a loaf in a baking dish or place in a loaf pan
Place the strips of bacon on top of the meatloaf closely together
Bake in a pre-heated oven (350 degrees) and bake approximately 45 minutes.
*after having cooked this I have found it better to cook the bacon a little bit before hand so 
that it cooks all the way thorough. Otherwise you may have to cook the meatloaf longer


Taco Soup:
Brown 1/2 or 1 lb ground beef with onions
add 2 cans black beans (not drained)
1 can diced tomatioes (not drained)
1 can of corn
1 packet of taco seasoning
serve with tortilla chips or cornbread

Greek Marinated Chicken
 ~ 1 cup plain yogurt
 2 Tbsp olive oil 
4 cloves garlic, minced
 ½ Tbsp dried oregano 
1 medium lemon zest juice from 1/2 lemon 
½ tsp salt freshly cracked pepper
¼ bunch fresh parsley 
3½ to 4 lbs chicken pieces
 ~ Combine marinade. Place pieces in marinade in gallon ziplock. 
Bake 375 45-60 minutes or grill.



Minestrone Soup:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup thinly sliced Savoy cabbage( I dind't have this so I left it out)
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 2 large stalks of celery, sliced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with their liquid
• 1 cup dried  pasta
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or white beans, drained
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Chicken Bacon Lasagna

8 lasagna pasta, cooked and drained.

1 pound bacon, diced, cooked and drained

Small yellow onion

6 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

2 cups of Alfredo cream sauce

½ cup mozzarella (to sprinkle on top)

½ cup grated parmesan (to sprinkle on top)

1 cup ricotta cheese

½ cup sour cream

6 oz. cream cheese

½ cup grated parmesan

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

salt and pepper (to taste, your preference)

Instructions
Add 8 pieces of lasagna pasta to a large pot of boiling water.
Cook pasta 2 minutes less than the directions on the package. It will finish cooking in the oven.
Drain pasta in strainer and lay pasta onto paper towels to dry off excess water.
Shred chicken breasts. Set aside.
Cut and fry bacon.
Add diced onions and crushed garlic 3 minutes prior to baking being finished.
Drain bacon mixture onto a plate with paper towels. (It will catch the excess fat.)
In a medium size bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, parmesan and seasonings.
Divide and spread the filling onto the cooked pasta evenly.
Add the shredded chicken onto each pasta.
Sprinkle the bacon mixture on top of the chicken and cheese mixture. (Save some for the top after you roll up the pasta.)
Sprinkle some parmesan on top of the bacon and chicken.
Spread ½ cup of cream sauce on the bottom of a medium baking dish.
Roll the pasta and put seam side facing down into the sauce that is in the baking dish.
Cover the roll ups with the rest of the cream sauce.
Top with pieces of bacon.
Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan on top.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes.
Let it rest after taken out of oven for 5 to 10 minutes.