Foster Care Awareness Month

This is our updated map for the Statewide Swimsuit and Towel Drive. The green counties have been completed - all requests filled. The blue counties did not request swimsuits and towels, and the white counties show the number of requests that still need to be filled. We need to finish them so that we can get the packages to the kids before the start of summer. PLEASE HELP US! You can donate online (www.ourbighouse.org) or send a check or send swimsuits and towels. It's amazing what God has done this Spring to provide for 2, 481 kids so far. We have 930 left. It sounds like a lot - but look at how many counties have only a few left. If you can, sponsor the remainder of a county. I'm taking one of those that have 5 left. Can you do that too? Here's what we want the children to get out of this project:


1) That they have a Heavenly Father who loves them and has a plan for their lives. (The card we put in each package has a message from us and Jer. 29:11)


2) That people in their community care about them.


3) That they are special and deserve nice things just like any other child. (Which is why we are embroidering their name on their towel.)


I came across a website yesterday that has an excellent prayer guide for Foster Care Awareness Month. It encourages you to have a prayer vigil to address the growing and long-lasting needs of children in foster care. Obviously this is something near and dear to my heart, but I believe it should be for ALL Christians. Take a look at it and be humbled by the easy life you lead compared to those children whose lives are affected by abuse and neglect. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27 That's the command - how will you show your obedience?

Twelve Hours of Towels and Happy Birthday Hayden!

Yesterday was our Packing Party for the Statewide Swimsuit and Towel Drive. The pile of towels was quite daunting (if I had the camera I'd upload some pics...you'll just have to look for them on facebook or our next BH newsletter), but somehow they all got packaged! Not to say that we're done - we still have some to do to finish up, hopefully by the end of this week. We had a wonderful workforce of volunteers who helped us throughout the day. I ended up riding back to Montgomery with Heather and Adam with bags of unfinished towels (still waiting to be embroidered with kids' names). Heather's going to take me back to Opelika tomorrow.

Today is my brother Hayden's 22nd birthday - yay, Hayden! I thought of him yesterday b/c there was at least one towel for a Hayden (and one for a Haydren - yes, we checked - we had to do a doubletake on a lot of names!). Here are five great things about Hayden - he has brown eyes like me (sorry Cuyler and MacLaren - brown eyes are just cuter), he is a musical genius, he looks like Harry Potter, he is happily married to a great girl (yay for sisters-in-law) and they are going to make adorable babies one day (hopefully girls that I can dress up!), and he's funny. Well, he's a Jones - that goes without saying. Happy Trails Hayden! I love you! lol

Dress Shopping

This weekend I got to go with Heather to shop for her bridal gown. It was the most painless, exciting shopping experience I've probably ever had! It was the second dress she tried on, and no doubt the perfect one. She looks AMAZING in that dress! I can't wait to see her on her wedding day in August!

I got to see Tuscaloosa - not all the damage, since a lot of the neighborhoods are protected by National Guard checkpoints. But wow - it was shocking. Even though I'd seen pictures, it's one of those things that you just have see for yourself. And the stories that I've heard all display God's mercy in the storm..children saved by "the man with wings", lives spared, help coming from every corner of the nation, faith strengthened. No one asks for hardship (unless they're really crazy like me) but the Bible tells us repeatedly that it is through our perseverance in trial and suffering that we grow and our character is proven and we find hope that we can stand on. It doesn't make the circumstances any less tragic - like the mother who's infant was snatched from her arms by the wind and they can only find the blanket she was wrapped in, or the homes that we destroyed leaving only memories and debris behind. But it does remind us that this world is not our home, that our lives are short, and that there are more important things than homes and cars.

Not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:3-5

Roll Tide

First of all - we didn't have any damage in Opelika from yesterday's storms, thank the Lord! But as you've probably heard, our beloved Tuscaloosa took quite a beating. I was planning to go to T-town this weekend for the retirement celebration for Ken (campus minister at the Wesley Foundation). However it's been postponed until this summer. We heard the University of Alabama cancelled exams and graduation so that the students can leave as soon as possible. I'm sure it will be easier to do clean-up and restoration with most of the students out of the way. I feel very sad for those who are seniors and won't get to celebrate their graduation as planned. And some of them undoubtedly don't have homes to go to because of the widespread destruction across the state (and neighboring states too!). It's all very sad.

In BigHouse news - God continues to blow us away with blessings. Today we received an unexpected check for a general budget grant of $5,000!! We've been totally focused on the Swimsuit and Towel drive this Spring - I'm glad God's looking out for our general budget too! Speaking of swimsuits, we got back all of the finished swimsuits and towels for Cleburne County (about 60 kids). The ladies who embroidered the towels and packaged them prayed for each child by name. That really makes my heart happy. I had a dream one night while I was incapacitated in Fairview during the month of March - there were all these BigHouse kids coming to my house (in Fairview) and I was overwhelmed because I didn't know them and I didn't know what to do with all of them because I didn't have any help! I woke up and it was like 4:00 in the morning - I miraculously didn't have any pain so after I got done saying "Thank you, God! Thank you, God! Thank you, God!", I started praying for all the BigHouse kids I did know, and felt God telling me to start praying for our "BigHouse kids" across the state that we were getting towels for. It's an awesome responsibility to pray for these children. It was somewhat overwhelming as I went down the list and thought about them individually - with their own struggles with school, and friends, and family, and praying that someone would tell them about Jesus. Please pray for our kids! Jesus loves them all and has a plan for each of their lives.

Easter

This weekend I went home (again!) for Easter. On my way I stopped to visit with Jennifer, my beloved college roommate, who was in Birmingham for a job interview. She and her husband Adam are planning to move back to B'ham this summer after living in Denver for 3 years. I'm SO ready for them to be back on our side of the country!

Friday night I went with my parents to the Good Friday service at church; it was very meaningful to me. Saturday I read the book Heaven Is For Real - it is DEFINITELY worth your time if you're interested. I wasn't even super interested in reading it, but finished it in about two hours.

Sunday was of course Easter - I got to sing in the choir at church because they were singing music from "Run to the Cross" which I sang at First Baptist Canton last Easter. Such good music! Here's a great video of one of my favorite songs from the book in case you have time to check it out. We ate lunch at Aunt Sheila's house, which was really nice. My nephews had an egg hunt. They were funny to watch b/c they're pretty young and not real clear on the concept. But so cute - I just love them.

I drove back to AL and spent the night with Julie at her parents' house. I came back to Opelika this morning. Such a pretty day! This is our last official week of the Swimsuit and Beach Towel Drive collection. We'd love to have your help with sorting and packing the suits and towels on May 14th at our event in Trussville. Fill out the application here to let us know that you're coming; it's also a great opportunity for youth groups/Bible study groups/Sunday School classes/etc to get involved.

Headache - yeah, yeah I'm sure you want an update on that. I actually decided to join the MDjunction support group for NDPH (New Daily Persistent Headache) and I started a diary on there so that I could separate the headache stuff from the rest of my life and you wouldn't have to put up with headache updates on here anymore. So here's the link for that, in case you're interested. I just couldn't stand having my real blog and my real life taken over by headaches. (Denial? possibly...lol)

So many links in this post! It's like I actually know what I'm doing...haha.

In case you haven't heard

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us generously through the Jesus Christ our Savior so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:3-7

Happy Easter! He is risen!

Quarter of a Century

What a brilliantly wonderful birthday I had yesterday! Let's see if I can recap it all:

I woke up at 3:30am b/c I was really excited and praised God for not having any pain at that particular time.

Stayed awake until 4:30am checking to see who was on the ball with birthday wishes on facebook (that would be people in Eastern Time for the most part).

I woke up at 6:00 and got dressed to go running and watch the sunrise. :) It was GORGEOUS.

Came home, had my Quiet Time, got dressed in my tie-dye shirt and pink shorts - tie-dye is PERFECT for my birthday!

I got to go to work at BigHouse. (I wasn't able to work on Tuesday b/c of pain.) Micah made me some crescent rolls. We manned-up and got a dead bird out of the House...eek!

I checked my PO Box and got a card from my parents and one from Hayden and Brittany.

I took a nap.

I came back to BigHouse and had a birthday celebration with Felicity and Drew, one of our volunteers (their birthdays are on Sunday).

I went to Julie's house and got to open my present there - a tie-dye watch that matched my colors perfectly!, a travel journal (for my missionary journeys she said :) ), and balloons!

We went to eat sushi with Jacky. Got an AMAZING roll - the Longhorn. Oh my word.

We picked up Libby, put our names in for bowling, and got ice cream at TCBY (chocolate and peanut butter soft serve....YUM! Yes, my evening was full of foods on the headache bad-list).

Came back and bowled with Julie, Jacky, Libby, Bridget, and Amber - all my Bible study girls. Opened more presents! It was SO MUCH FUN! My scores weren't too great - 112, 137, 151 - but the 151 game I bowled a turkey (3 strikes in a row) which was one of my goals. I love a birthday turkey!

Finally went to bed around 1 AM.

It was a very great day. It wasn't pain-free, but I was able to do what I wanted, so that's the important part to me. Hopefully my 26th birthday won't have any headaches getting in the way!