Catching Up...

Ok, I know, I know. You probably all forgot I had a blog since it took me so long to write a new post. Believe me it wasn't because I didn't want to, I have just had so much going on that it was impossible to find the time. So this post is really just to catch you all up on what's been going on in our lives (should you be interested).

First off, we moved to our new house last weekend. Crazy!! That about sums it up. I have decided that I hate moving. All of it! The packing, unpacking, lifting, organizing; it all stinks. Our plans changed in the last month, and we are not living where we had originally planned. Things are finally starting to come together though. This house does bring some challenges; but we are aware that it is for a greater cause. It will be worth it. Thank you so much to our family and friends who helped us. We could not have done it without you.

Second, working at church. Wow it has been more amazing than either one of us could have imagined. We love it so much. It is so nice to feel like you are where you are supposed to be. We are a part of something that is actually making a difference. The people at Hillview have been so wonderful. We have made so many great friendships. And I couldn't love the kids more. They are a really special group of kids that are going to do a lot of great things. If you missed my last post, Richie is the Family Minister, and I am the Children's Minister. We are enjoying working together more than I ever thought we could. We even share an office :)

I have been able to be a part of a couple amazing conferences through the church. In October I went to a Kids Ministry Conference in Nashville, TN. It was different being away from Richie and Grant for 4 days, but such a great cause. I was able to learn so much from that conference. There were several speakers that came. One of which was Angie Smith. I also saw her speak at a conference in August called Women of Faith. I was able to meet her afterwards and tell her what a difference her book made in my life. Her book is called "I Will Carry You". I have written about it several times. This time she spoke and told the same story I heard at Women of Faith. The heart wrenching story of her baby, who lived for just 2 short hours. I was attending the conference alone, but I met two wonderful ladies who let me tag along with them. I warned them before the session that Angie spoke in, that I would cry. I told them about Eli, and how her story had affected me. So her talk came, I cried, and then afterward the worship leader came up and said he felt the intensity in the room and felt like there were people who needed prayer. He asked that if you needed prayer to stand up and that the person next to you pray for you. Now at the time, I didn't feel like I particularly needed prayer. I am at peace with our life, but the story she told was still emotional for me. I didn't stand up. However the women that I met just two days before leaned over and put their arms around me and started praying for me. I was so touched by their act of kindness. Then that night we went back to our hotel. We knew we were all staying at the same hotel, but we had not discussed floors, or room numbers. As myself and one of the women rode the elevator we realized we were on the same floor. We walked to our room and realized we were right next to each other the whole time and didn't know it. My room was 618 and hers was 619. I immediately felt that this was like God saying to me that He is always near even when I don't know it. Out of all the hotels in Nashville, and all the floors and rooms in this hotel, she ended up next to me. That was no coincidence. I truly believe He sent these women to let me know He still cared. Thank God, and thank you Jane and Connie. Your friendship during those days, and hopefully in the future, means a lot to me.

A few weekends ago I was able to attend Super Start at Northside Christian Church in New Albany. It is a conference that travels all around the country, for preteens. I can't even tell you how much fun it was. It was so well done, and the kids loved it. It was a two-day conference. We stayed the night at a local church. I mention it because I want to tell you, if you had not had the opportunity to see a room full of preteens worship, you should. If you have a preteen, or even if you don't you should volunteer to go. The way they worship God without abandon is so inspiring. It is no wonder why Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven belonged to such as these. I think we could all take a lesson from them. It brought me so much joy. They are able to shut the world out, and just let God in; in a way that I, and probably most adults find difficult. It is so easy for our minds to become filled with endless distractions. It was refreshing to see these kids let all that go and just worship. Very cool!!

Please continue to pray for us. Our lives are on a great path, but with the pressures and stresses of being so busy that sometimes becomes a little cloudy. We know that what we are doing is right, but it's easy to lose sight of that in all the hustle and bustle. Richie is constantly busy with school, Morton's and church. I am always busy with Grant, school (teaching at PCS), and church. We have little time for each other, or anyone else for that matter. Our family and friends have had to be very understand of our busy schedule, and for that we are grateful.

Thank you all again for reading. I promise to try to be more diligent in taking the time to write. Forgive me for taking so long :) There is more exciting stuff coming I promise ;)

Brooke