Snow Funny 2

THIS Is What Christmas Is All About

Check out my friend, Carole's blog.

They had an AMAZING Christmas morning yesterday & even though I knew it wasn't possible for us yesterday, I find myself wishing that I could have been there with them... What an incredible testimony!

There is a short video at the top, but the thing I really want you to see is the slide show at the bottom of her post and the words to the song she has playing in the video.

True words.
Carole's Blog

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope you and your families all have a very, Merry Christmas!

OUTREACH = Reaching Out

Casting Crowns has a song titled,
"If We Are the Body,"
that includes the following chorus:

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way.

As Christians -- members of the Body of Christ -- we should be striving to be the hands and feet of Jesus to everyone we meet.
After a weekend of amazing outreaches, I am proud to say that I belong to a body (church) that really tries to do just that. Here, in pictures, is a brief recap of the last 3 days:

Friday night -- Midnight Outreach
HPC Shuttle parked in front of a local strip club.

Just a few of the goodies donated by Healing Place Women which we put in the gift bags for the strippers: "Live the Dream" t-shirt, sunglasses, water bottle, bracelets, nail polish, earrings, & candy!

Decorating a strip club dressing room -- rose petals & pot pourri, cookies & cupcakes, bracelets & toys for their children: Just a part of our evening!

Written on the mirror in lipstick:
HEALING PLACE Loves You!!

Different club; same idea.

Saturday morning: Baton Rouge Dream Center
Christmas Outreach!
We had a huge turnout & it was so much fun!

Cookie decorating, face painting, spacewalks, & more!

Never heard the final count, but not long after this pic was taken, even the balcony was full!

BRDC Kids-In-Action getting ready to go onstage for a short Christmas program.
They were awesome!

"Sista Bling" holding a dance contest & giving away 26 bicycles!!!!

We have a winner!

Saturday night & Sunday morning:
HPC Highland Kids-In-Action doing their
Christmas program:
"Could It Be?"

Could it be there's more to Christmas, than presents under a tree?...

Followed by a great message by Pastor Dino titled, "Simple Christmas."
(check out his blog for more great pics!)

Natasha as Mrs. Santa Claus

And while the entire weekend was great fun, real work was also done: Families were helped, children were fed, hope was restored, & about 70 (SEVENTY!) decisions for Christ were made.

What an amazing testimony to our community!

FINISHED!

My fingers are sore and my tongue is dry (ok, not really because I used self-stick), but I have FINALLY finished my Christmas cards! It only took me 3 days. =)

And on top of that, I have also finished my Christmas shopping.
Alright, I have 3 more things to buy, but that's it!

What I still have left to do:

*Buy & prep roses for Midnight Outreach
*Help decorate the dressing rooms of several area strip clubs
*Actual Midnight Outreach (where we give out the chocolate & roses)
*Watch Natasha's play -- ALL FOUR SERVICES -- She's Mrs. Santa Claus!
*Baton Rouge Dream Center Christmas Outreach & Toy Give-Away -- All day on Saturday
*CLEAN MY HOUSE (ugh)
*And finish START my holiday baking:

-- Baklava
-- Orange Walnut Bread
-- Klaicha
-- Christmas cookies
-- Chocolate Popcorn
-- Coconut Cream Cake

Oh, yeah, and wrap all those gifts so Natasha will quit pestering me!

What do YOU still need to get done?

Whatever it is, just keep in mind the real reason for the season: JESUS
Lord knows, I'm trying to!

T'was the MIDNIGHT Before Christmas...

THIS Friday night marks a very special MIDNIGHT OUTREACH for us:

We will leave that afternoon and go to the strip clubs and decorate the dressing rooms for the girls. We will hang garland & ornaments & leave gifts for each of the girls. We are giving them chocolates and earrings and make-up & more...
Additionally, we are taking toys for the girls to give to their children on Christmas day.
I am SO excited to be a part of this!

We will then meet up again late that night to go do our usual rose-hand-out.
If you have NO IDEA what I'm talking about, go HERE and HERE.

I can think of no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than by showing Christ to those who feel unloved & forgotten.

What are you doing to prepare for THE holiday?

Did You Know?

I totally lifted this from FlowerDust's blog, but it is just so amazing.

Get ready to be wowed... exponentially.

A Week of Christmas Miracles!!

What a week!

First of all (for those of you just dying to know):
IT SNOWED!!!!
We woke up this morning to a good 3 inches of snow on our house & yard!We knew last night that there was a good chance of snow, but no one thought it would stick. Even so, I woke up every hour from 2 AM, on, trying to get a glimpse of the snow (yes, I'm a little child like that). FINALLY around 5'ish, I saw flakes coming down with the rain! Before long, it was solid snow! Absolutely BEAUTIFUL -- HUGE, soft, white flakes coming down.
I went back to bed for a couple of hours & woke up to what you see above. =)
Yay God!
Earlier this week, I heard from my dear friend, DAWN that her son, Elijah's scans had come back CLEAN! This is a BIG answer to prayer! This family is near and dear to my heart; I love them so much.
This sweet, little boy has been battling neuroblastoma for several years now. I continue to be amazed at his strength and fortitude. I truly believe that his healing will become his testimony for God. He IS a Christmas miracle!

But that's not all!!
Remember these posts: Holding My Breath... & And Turning Blue... ??
Well.... (drum roll, please)
THEY HEARD FROM THE COURTS TODAY!
My friend, Carole, and her family have a new son from Ethiopia!!
I am SOOOO excited for them.

Even though Christmas is still a couple of weeks away, it feels like Christmas right now to me.
God bless us, every one.

Look! Our fake snowmen are covered in REAL snow!!

5000 SHOES

Please Help!!

Make a donation today. It's ONLY $5 & God will bless you for it!

SOLES for SOULS



Read more about it HERE as well.

Let It Sneaux, Let It Sneaux, Let It Sneaux!

So, there's this RUMOR going around that we might get some SNOW late tonight & tomorrow morning! It will be mixed with rain & it probably won't stick, but we are excited, nonetheless!

SNEAUX is something you don't see often in south Louisiana.
It's crazy the things you take for granted...

I remember when I was in the Air Force at Tech school, I met a 20-year-old guy from south Florida who had NEVER seen snow in his life. I couldn't fathom what he was talking about. I mean, I grew up in central Arkansas, and while we didn't exactly have a white Christmas every year, we certainly had a good dusting or two. Some years we got several inches of the glorious white stuff!
But this guy had NEVER seen snow (except for on tv).

Did I mention my Tech School was in Denver, Colorado?
In the late fall & winter?
And snow it did!!
The first time the flakes fell, this Floridian ran outside in nothing but a t-shirt & shorts; he was so excited to see snow in person.
Of course that didn't last long. We're talking about DENVER here.
Major cold.
About a month later, this same kid from Florida decided he was pretty sick of the stuff.
When you have to march through 8-9 inches at 4 am every morning, it tends to lose its magic...

But here I sit, giddy as a little girl -- hoping, PRAYING that we get some snow (not sleet, not freezing rain, SNOW).
My kids are excited, too.
But my youngest, Raisha, has never seen snow and I think she wonders what all the hubbub is about. Hopefully, this year, she will get to find out.
I just know she will love it.

Midnight With FlowerDust

100 Roses for 100 Girls...

Dean, Me, Season, & Anne (FlowerDust)

In case you can't read it, it says:
"We hope this small gift
brightens your day.
It is a simple way to say God loves you
-- no strings attached.
Let us know if we can help you."

healingplacechurch.org

We give each girl -- stripper, prostitute, mom, grandmother, barmaid, etc. -- one of these beautiful, long-stemmed, red roses with this card attached.
How lucky am I to be a part of such an amazing church?

This next picture is just for fun because it clearly shows that I have had WAY, WAY too much caffeine! ROFL!
Seriously, I almost look manic.

No more Red Bull for me!

Computer Update

Sorry I left you hangin' like that.

I got my computer back on Sunday night.
Geek Squad only held it hostage for 8 1/2 days.

The bad news: It WAS the hard drive! DEFECTIVE! Again!
Seriously, what on earth is going on with Hewlett-Packard???

More bad news: My warranty made me get the hard drive replaced. No new Mac computer for me (well, not right now, at least). It's still my goal to own a Mac in the not-too-distant-future.

The GOOD NEWS is that they were able to extract ALL of my files and save them on to an external hard drive for me. So, all I've really lost is all my contact info.

Sooooo..... If you are reading this & you are friend or family... I have lost ALL of your contact info. Address, phone #s, & email.
Ok, well, I probably have your phone # in my iPhone, but I'm not going to call all 300 of you!
So, please shoot me a quick email & let me know your info & how you're doing.
I promise I'm not ignoring you.
Just ask the geeks.

Snow Funny