Archive for January 2012

Sweet Amy girl...God knew exactly what He was doing by placing you in our family seven years ago.

He knew we needed to see this precious smile each and every morning...to hear your charming little giggle throughout each and every day!

God knew that you would not waste any time to make your impression into our lives!

Knew your heart for others and love of Him would touch those that know you.

Most importantly, God knew that putting you and I together would be the best way to draw us both closer to HIM!!! And for that, I am eternally grateful!

Amy...

you truly are God's sweet, precious gift to us!!!

We are so thankful for all the joy, laughter, hugs, kisses, songs, prayers, snuggles, and delight you add to our family!!

Happy Birthday, sweet one!

We love you!!!

The theme for this year's winter retreat was:

Emerge and Engage.

Emerge from the shadows of this world...from the darkness...from complacency.

Engage with those dying around you...the spiritual battle...the great abundant harvest.

It was an amazing weekend. Hard to imagine so much happening in just three short days.

So much preparation...so many prayers...so much anticipation....and then in a blink of an eye...it's over!

And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

Acts 2:17

God has been making it evident to Jason and I that these are those sons and daughters. God IS pouring out His Spirit on these students and emboldening them to be great ambassadors of Christ. This weekend we heard story after story of teenagers radically standing up for their faith wherever they are and using ANY opportunity God places in front of them to witness to others. Our students were challenged not to just be crazy and adventurous in life...but in their walk with God as well!

I LOVE these kids.

My heart ached to hear of their passion for the Lord...but then to listen to how the enticement of this world pulls them back and entangles them.

There were many...MANY...late night sessions of heart felt weeping and praying.

There were commitments and decisions made that, I pray, will change the course of their lives.

And of course...there was silliness...and laughter...

and Lecrae...

and "dancing"...

and times of being thankful we have such an amazing group of kids!!!

The last session ended a bit unexpectedly.

Rather than having the worship band come up and send us off with a final farewell...they had all of the youth pastors and their wives stand up.

After a benediction of sorts...they had each youth group gather around their pastor and lay hands on him and his wife.

Then one of our senior guys prayed over us while Jason and I stood there WEEPING!!!

It was such a sweet, intimate time with our students. One that I will treasure for a very, very long time.

It was the perfect way for us to wrap up the weekend as a youth group...standing together to face the challenges that lay ahead!

Last week was a crazy week.

Jackson was recovering from his infection and burns.

Hailey got an infection.

And Friday night we were planning for thirty of our youth leaders to come over for dinner.

The kids and I scurried about most of the week...trying to get school done, house cleaned, food made, goodies baked...it was a bit of a harried schedule.

There were several moments where I found myself longing for the comfort of pjs...and a cozy, snuggle in bed. I was tired of the busyness.

Then...on Friday afternoon...the kids told me they had a surprise for me.

They covered my eyes and began telling me that they knew I had been working hard...and was tired.

They led me to the kitchen...and uncovered my eyes...and said,

"Here, Mom, this is for you...because you work so hard...and we love you!"

Sweet kids...they had robbed their piggy banks and given me a very costly tip.

My first reaction was to accept the beautiful card...but return their money to their banks.

But as they stood there...so proud of their giving...so thankful for the opportunity to give...I received their gift.

What a sweet blessing our children are...little messengers from God to encourage us when the going gets tough. Telling us not to grow weary in doing good...and in time...we reap!

I put the money in a place that would serve as a reminder to me on hard days.

A reminder of the budding fruit that is blossoming in their little hearts.
A reminder of the One who began a good work in them...and ME...and His faithfulness to complete it.
A reminder of the good and perfect gifts that come down from the Father of Lights.

This is a video Jason showed yesterday in youth group.

You could have heard a pin drop.

It was intense. Thought provoking. Challenging. Convicting.

You.Must.Watch.This.

Matt Chandler The Village Church

Jackson.

Our crazy, boisterous, silly, tough little guy!

His sweet little face...infectious belly laugh...and growing vocabulary makes every day exciting and fun!

However, his propensity for finding himself in complex situations is starting to become quite painful for him!!

Last week, during one of the more blustery days, we decided to turn the fireplace on to keep the house nice and cozy. The kids are all aware of the rules about the fireplace...but one of those kids...did not quite understand the reason for the rules!!!

Our inquisitive little man...leaned forward to catch a closer glimpse at the inner-workings of the fireplace and did a face plant on the protective glass.

Obviously, with the fireplace on...this glass was immensely hot...and so...quite a nasty burn ensued!

With a double ear infection in the midst of the equation...two antibiotic shots throbbing in his legs...and now a horrible burn covering his face...this little guy put his smile away for about a week...and resigned himself to misery!

A week of wailing, clinging, rubbing, creaming, washing, and cuddling followed.

His charming personality refused to surface...hidden behind a suffering little boy!

But with the healing of his face, came the peeking little smile.

Nothing gets this kid down for too long!

Thankfully, the Lord spared him from a much worse scenario and it is almost behind us now!

Maybe this little lesson of playing with fire...will live infinitely on in his memory and keep him from many more situations of getting burned!!! :-)

When I was nineteen years old...living in Europe...my roommate and I made a last minute trip to Switzerland. With tour book in hand, we hopped on the train...deciding as we chugged along where our final destination would be.

Most appealing choice?

The Jungfrau.

The third highest mountain of the Bernese Alps. Majestic. Amazing. Breathtaking.

Traveling by a mountain train...we made our way through the glacier to the observatory.

When we stepped outside (being as much bundled as is humanly possible while still leaving enough room to breathe and see)...

...this was the spectacular view.

God's creation completely untouched by mortal man.

Fresh snow and old snow layered on top of each other to create literally a "blank slate".

No indentations by the common passerby.

No snow angels or snowmen.

No footprints, tire tracks or even animal tracks.

Completely blank.

I remember standing there...looking down on the smooth snow and wishing I could use it as my personal playground. Run through it. Play in it. And of course, leave some type of imprint to show that I, Celia Jimenez (Brunenkant at the time) had been here on this date!

The year 2012 is our blank slate.

It stands before us - completely untouched...unblemished.

There might be hurts or sorrows that we carry over from the previous years.

Joy and celebrations that we anticipate in the coming weeks or months.

But for the most part - it has yet to be marked.

It is fresh with no mistakes.

It is holding no regrets for you.

It is open for a year of impact.

Radical, sold-out living for Christ.

What imprint will you leave on 2012?

What imprint will it leave on you?

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