Minister's Wives...a Rare Breed!

Tiffany's post reminded me that I never posted pics of the Sweetheart Banquet that our Minister's Wives Organization held back in February (we host a banquet each year around Valentine's Day to raise funds for various organizations we support). This is an annual event for us and the proceeds this year went to research for Breast Cancer. We also meet once a month at various churches for a time of fellowship and dinner. My grandmother was a part of the same organization along with my godmother. The late wife of our former pastor at GMZBC is actually the one who convinced me to join nearly 5 years ago. I love talking to the older ladies who have been at this much longer (longer then I have even been on earth....I kid you not. One lady is like in her 80's and looks fabulous). Some time I think we are so busy being hip and chic that we forget those who have come before us have struggled just as hard and in many cases even harder to make it through some of the same trials we face today. Some of these ladies have been doing this for 40 and 50 years. The one thing they have taught me though is that God will substain you through anything. You just have to have faith, a strong spirit and love the people God has placed in your care....no matter what! They are a rare breed.

Life Is Good!!!!

Thought I would share what we have been up to the last few weeks.

Mostly we have been hanging out with the family. This picture was taken at my Godchild's school play.

I spent most of Saturday sitting on my front porch watching the car's go by, and listening to music on my ipod, surfing the net while Marc and TJ spent the day cleaning up the yard.

When Marc wasn't working on chores that have been on the backburner he has playing a lot of Wii!!! LOL

In the last 4 months the girls have both taken vacations. Quisha went to Las Vegas just before Christmas. This past weekend Nicki spent a few days in New York City. Now its our turn! Still not sure where we are going, but that's OK. For a minute we thought we might actually make it to Orlando, but apparently everyone else had the same idea and the places we would have been able to stay at were booked up (through May mind you)! No biggie, wherever we end up will be fine with me (well with the exception of a few places). LOL

Marc took a Sunday off from WABC and we visited some friends, ate dinner together and just chilled at home. All of the downtime made for a great weekend!

What I'm Not Reading!

Lori and the ladies over at Leading and Loving It just answered a Q&A on books they are reading right now. HAHA, that is the wrong question to ask this girl. I recently finished "Going All the Way: Preparing for a Marriage That Goes the Distance" by Craig Groeschel. Right after that I picked up "The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership for a Third-Culture Church" by Dave Gibbons. The problem is that I have about 20 other books stacked up beside my bed that have started reading that are now collecting dust. Not to mention about 5 more in a basket in my bathroom! The easier question for me should be what am I not reading. The answer...my bible! Honestly I love books and I could read them all day long (and sometimes do). Like many Christians I want to read my bible more but for some reason I let it sit on my coffee table, in the car (sometimes even in the office at church)! Why do we find it so hard to pick up God's word? Maybe because we might learn something we have been trying to avoid! Like all of the the things we should be doing in his name as opposed to our own agenda. Rest is good for the body, but God's word feeds the soul! Time to feast less at other people's table and more often at the feet of my savior!

Getting off of the Roller Coaster!

For the last few years I have felt as if I have been on a never ending roller coaster ride! A few weeks ago I decided it was time to take control and get off the ride and start living life.

My friend Tiffany recently wrote about the "Small Things". How we have to enjoy the small things because one day we may come to realize they were the things that matter the most!

So if you have noticed I haven't blogged as much. As a matter of fact I am usually the person looking at the world behind a lens! I once wrote about capturing memories behind the camera while others around me experienced the moment I photographed. But if you follow me on facebook or twitter you will have noticed a difference in my post (at least I hope you have)!

I have been spending way more time with my family (AKAMarc...lol). Marc and I have spent more downtime together in the last few weeks then we have in forever. We have watched movies, held hands, browsed in secondhand shops, gone out for icecream, cuddled up in our room to watch tv together (actually the tv watched us because we fell asleep). We are planning a vacation for two (the first one we have taken in nearly 5 years) for the coming month. And I'm even learning to step away from my computer, my phone, and in some cases church!

The payoff has been seeing Marc relax more. Our Fridays off are strictly dedicated to family and friend time. This weekend Nicki and I went to meet my mom and sister to look at my mom's new home. We had lunch together and then Nicki and I went to Williamsburg to hit the outlets. We didn't buy much, but we had a great time anyway.

A few weeks ago I even took a day away from WABC and attended church with my son, something I had promised him I would do on a regular basis. Later that day we got to spend some time talking and I realized how long it had been since we had done that.

I'm learning to love the life I live. I'm embracing the small things, and I have finally had the courage to get off the rollercoaster!

Smelling the Flowers

OK, enough of the doom and glum around here. Its time to stop and smell the roses. One of the things Marc and I have been talking about is all of the projects around here that need to be done. We put a lot of stuff on the back burner including a couple of things we purchased years ago so that we could entertain more. One of which is a gazebo for our back yard, and a swing for two that was suppose to go up in the front yard. If you could see our yard right now you would know we have way more work to do to get to that point including a few limbs that have been down and could use some immediate attention.

Inside we have some painting that needs to be done, not to mention years of clutter that has accumulated during our many years of focusing on the church.

Its been forever since we had friends over. Or even took the time to enjoy our front porch. Had dinner in our diningroom. Starting to get the picture? Well that's about to change. I figure if I write all of this down then it might help me with that balance thing I am working on.

I'm also going to get back to this. I have missed it. Did not realize how much of my creative side was being squashed until I almost let it go.

I'm also going to be traveling a lot this year. Marc and I have not taken a vacation together since 2006! That's about to change thanks to a gift from some really special family members. Add in a cruise with my mom, a trip to DC to meet up with some great girlfriends, and the Women of Faith Conference. Well less just say I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself!

My mom is about to make some drastic changes in her life and I intend to be there to help her out. I love the ministry work we do (yes, even now when it seems difficult) but for the last five years (probably even more) "life" has been left to chance. All of that is about to change. Its time to stop and smell the flowers!

Balance, Patience and Prayer

This last month has been a lesson on balance , a lesson on patience, and a lesson on the importance of prayer.

After a pretty rough couple of weeks I have come to several conclusions (some of which I will share). I think my friend Jason said it best when he said that we are reminded of the amount of spiritual attack we will come under when we are trying to do something big for God. He also said when the enemy attacks its often to discourage your leader.....that's why its so important to pray for your pastor/leaders.

Several friends that I know who are in leadership also seemed to be going through. Add in the crazy weather we have been having you would think someone was trying to get our attention! Well it got my attention and I suddenly had to re-prioritise some things.

For the last few years my focus has been mostly on ministry. Actually for the last 4 or 5 years its been my main focus. Sometimes to the detriment of my family, friends, children, and especially my marriage.

Marc and I have been talking a lot about balance, patience and prayer. The conclusion we came to was that our life has been off balance. Which has caused us to lose patience, all leading to the fact that we need to pray more.

I will be spending more time focusing on home and family. I have given up a lot of things in my life in the name of "ministry". My focus should have been on God (because if God had been my focus many of the things I am going through I might have been able to handle better). I'm cutting back from doing some of the things I was doing for church and spending more time studying God's word, more time in worship with God, and more time in prayer. In other words I'm trying to put some balance back into my daily living.

Many people have asked me how they can pray for Marc and I and after careful thought I have come up with a few things that I will be in prayer for ( I can't very well ask for prayer for things I am not willing to pray for myself)!

1) First and foremost I am praying for my husband. Specifically for his health, his heart, and for his continued strength during times of trouble. That he will continue to be the leader that God has called him to be no matter what.

2) I am praying for our marriage. Specifically for protection from outside distractions. For time to just be us (partners in love, life and living). And for continued open lines of communication and transparency.

3) I am praying for my kids who too often have seen their parents hurt because of the politics of "church". Especially for my youngest daughter Nicki who works beside us in ministry. I pray that her heart is guarded, that she does not lose faith, and that she can better stand against unforeseen attacks from the enemy.

4) Finally I am asking for prayer for me. Prayer that I continue to be the wife, mother, woman that God has called me to be. That I set boundaries and balance for my private home life and the life that I live on the outside in this fishbowl we call "ministry". That I put my relationship with God at the top of my priority list. And that I create an environment at home of peace, fun, safety and security for my husband and children.

I Got Nothing!

Ever get to a point where you think you have it all figured out, then you realize ....you got nothing? The past two weeks have been a test for my family (without going in to details less just say...it hasn't gone well). Just when we thought we had it all figured out...BAM!!!! We got nothing! We started questioning some of the decisions we have made in the last few years. It was sort of like dialing 411 for information looking for help and on the the other side of the line was someone speaking in a language you didn't understand, offering advice that doesn't register, hanging up in frustration feeling as if you got nothing! The worst part was knowing that's just not the way its suppose to be. How many times have I said here that God has our back? How often have we prayed for peace, for understanding, for grace, for mercy and God answered the call?

For some reason this week it seemed like the devil was winning the race. He almost broke us, came close to causing us to give up and throw in the towel. Then something amazing happened. God sent a lifeline. Friends started praying for us, sending coded messages in the form of scripture. Just when we thought we were left out in the water all by ourselves, God said stop relying on your own will. Did you forget who was in control? I am the captain of this ship, let me navigate the waters. The only thing you have to do is get in the boat and watch. When the seas are stormy, and the boat is shaking back and forth...I will be the one who will say...peace be still! When you think you have nothing, is when I can step in and show you that I have all that you need.

Keep your eye on the prize!

Marc got to do one of his most favorite things to do this weekend. He loves baby dedications (truth be known he loves anything having to do with babies). Nicki captured these pictures of the big event. Little Clara kept her eyes on Marc almost the entire time. I think she was just trying to figure him out.

I spent almost the entire week in the house. I couldn't seem to get my act together and everything bothered me. Had some personal stuff going on that was really messing with my spirit, and then I realized that it was the enemy...and I got myself together.

When this happens (and from everything I hear from others when things are going well, or you start to speak positive about your family, your marriage and your church the enemy looks for a way to come in and steal your joy) you have to keep your eye on the prize.

There will always be obstacles that seem to be in the way. Hurdles you will have to cross, test you will have to pass. But if you remember who you are, and who's you are then you can make it through anything.

First talk to God. Nothing angers the enemy more then when you connect with your heavenly father. Second talk to your mate. Nothing hurts a marriage more then miscommunication, or no communication at all. Third talk to great friends. Not the ones that will back up bad behavior but who will listen with an open mind, keep you grounded, pray for you in your time of need, offer you godly advice and be willing to chastise you when you are wrong.

The enemy is ever watchful, seeking out whom he may destroy. You have to be vigilent, study God's word, meditate, spend lots of time in prayer, and keep your mind focused on what really matters.

1st Peter 5:6-10 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time;7 casting all your anxiety upon him, because he careth for you.8 Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,9 whom withstand stedfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are accomplished in your brethren who are in the world.10 And the God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall himself perfect, establish, strengthen you.

Legacy of Love!

Mrs. Ellis would have been 100 years old today!

My girls hanging out with their Cousin Jen (in the middle). One of Mrs. Ellis great granddaughter's.


My aunt and uncle. My Aunt Maryland is Mrs. Ellis oldest daughter.

My goddaughter Jess and her mom, my cousin/sister (we grew up together as close as any sisters can). They are Mrs. Ellis granddaughter and great granddaughter.

We have been having a discussion about Valentine's Day on the "Leading and Loving It" blog. Whether you like it or not, do you celebrate it? Do you exchange gifts, etc.

I happen to love Valentine"s Day (but I feel that way about most holidays. It doesn't take much to give me an excuse to celebrate or decorate)!

Today was probably one of the best Valentine's Day I have had in a long time. We started off the day with a great Sunday morning worship service. Who knew you could fill up a church on Sunday just because it was Valentine's Day! Actually I think it might have had something to do with the fact that we had Youth Sunday. Its the one Sunday out of the month when our youth take over the entire service with the exception of the sermon. Although our worship leader is on track to become a preacher so that may even change one day. LOL I got so excited I forgot to take pictures of the "Leaders of the Day"!

We really got a feel for what it will be like when our attendance starts to go up. It was pretty tight up in there! At the rate we are going we will have to add a room to the church just for the babies!

Then this afternoon we celebrated what would have been the 100th Birthday Celebration of the matriarch of WABC. I talked about Mrs. Ellis in this post a while back. Mrs. Ellis left behind a strong legacy. Including a scholarship fund that will benefit young people who are entering college.

The one thing I loved about the program this afternoon was the diversity of ages that were in attendance. Many of the children in our church come in with their grandparents. Add in our teens and young adults you have a pretty good mix of people representing varying generations. They all came together this evening to celebrate the legacy of one woman.

Originally Marc and I had planned to spend the evening at the Outback Steakhouse in celebration of Valentines Day. We were going to use a dinner certificate we received over the Christmas holidays. We didn't know at the time that the church would be serving dinner. The way we figure it the Outback will be there any day (and probably a lot less crowded then today). But spending the day with family and friends is the best way I can think of to spend this very special day.

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope (if you celebrate the day) that you had a blessed day and that you got to spend the day with the ones you love. I would love to know how you spent your day.

Happy Birthday

I think he enjoyed his day!

My Valentine

Marc celebrates his birthday tomorrow. If you asked him he would tell you he is 29 years old and holding. That would be a problem since our oldest is 26. Me thinks he would have some explaining to do! LOL

I don't think people realize how much is on my husbands plate. He is a work-a-holic by nature. He is not very good at laying back and relaxing so at times you have to "make" him sit still and smell the roses.

He basically holds down three important jobs. First and foremost he is a father and husband. He also makes a pretty good brother, nephew and son-in-law. My mom would tell you that in a heart beat (and that's saying a lot coming from her because she doesn't pull any punches. I'm sure she wonders on occasion where she got me from, but that's story for another time). HAHA

Secondly he is a pastor. He doesn't get paid full time to do this but he puts in as if he was. I love the passion he has for WABC. But admire even more the passion he has for Christ and doing what God calls him to do no matter what! You won't find him sitting on the sidelines while others do all of the work either. He has a true gift for servanthood and if you asked him he would tell you he's not interested in being catered to, he would rather you reserve that for those in need. The ones outside of the four walls of the church.

He is also Bi-vocational. After many years of serving under others, watching as others were promoted (in many cases, people he actually trained), being laid off twice from his job, and overlooked time after time by people who never took time to see past the fact that he did not have a degree he started his own business. Its not always easy, actually life has never been very easy for him. But he is one of the few people I know who hardly ever complains about what the world has thrown at him. Through it all (good times, bad times, sickness, financial woes) you name it I have seen this man go through it all and still come out on the other side holding firm and fast to his faith.

I love and admire him so much for what he has accomplished thus far in life and I look forward to seeing where God takes him.

So on this weekend dedicated to all things love...I have one question for my honey. Will you be my Valentine, again?

A Couple of First at WABC Today!

WABC KidZone (AKA Children's Church) begin today!

Nicki decided to do some on the job training with our newest media ministry intern. LOL

Our new interim music director begin today!

There's A Storm Out Over the Ocean......

Monday Morning Ramblings

The Snowstorm of 2010! I haven't enjoyed a weekend as much as I have this weekend! I also did a lot of cooking. Can we say weight watchers! I'm sure I gained 10 pounds! LOL

Three days later this is what our street looks like.

My poor winter lights are finally starting to thaw out. I think the best decision I made was leaving them alone. The next time we get snow like this I will grab them as soon as possible.

I made a winter piece to put up after Christmas. I did a snow theme because I figured I wouldn't get any snow this year. Boy was I wrong! LOL

Despite the snow covered ground and roads Marc got a call for a job today. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for his business to pick up. Every since I sent out the prayer request he has been working non stop.

We had so much snow that most of the churches in our area were closed on Sunday including WABC. KidZone was suppose to start on 5th Sunday. No problem, we are ready to go on 1st Sunday and I have a feeling we will probably be busting at the seams the first day.

The next couple of weeks are going to be busy, but I think the family is ready to get back in to our daily rountine. Crazy as it is!

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes!

Its been years since we have had snow like this. Everyone who knows me knows how much I love snow, and how envious I have been of all of my friends who got snow over the Christmas holidays. Earlier this week the meteorologist in our area started talking about a major snow storm headed my way. I didn't believe them. As a matter of fact I said I would have to be literally holding the snow in my hand before I believed it. The closer we got to the weekend the more I started to believe it was a possibility. I went to bed last night praying for snow (yes, I know I have a sickness). I even dreamed about snow in my sleep! When I woke up I feared that my dream would still just be a dream. When I opened the window at 5:30 am this morning it took everything in me not to dance, shout and scream (sorry to those of you who follow me on twitter, that was my only outlet without waking up the entire house...lol).

So often our dreams remain just that.....a dream that we dream, but never pursue. Let's call that a dream that your heart makes. God created each of us for a special purpose. Those dreams we hold in our heart, many times are placed there by our father. This year I am beginning to see many of my dreams fulfilled. They haven't all come easy. Many of them I have had to fight to see come into fruition. Others came to pass that I never expected to be a dream of mine. Then there are others that seemed forever out of my reach, that have started to manifest themselves in ways I never even thought of.

Sometimes we have to release our dreams so that God can have his way. The surprising part in doing that is that when you release them into his hands he can do soo much more then you could ever imagine.

Pastor's Wives

If you are a Pastor or Minister's wife you will want to head over to Facebook and join the Leading and Loving It group. If you would like more info about "Leading and Loving It" just click here. My friend Lori offers great resources for women in ministry (especially us PW's) including opportunities to connect with other women in ministry who are living in this fishbowl we call life . You will love the virtual gatherings, and live chats. The Facebook group has just been added as another way that women can share praise reports, prayer request or words of encouragement with one another.

Never Underestimate God's Plan

My aunt would kill me if she knew this was up here. But she gave up her place at an event at her church to come and support and hear me speak. I think I even shocked her (I know I shocked myself)!

Wow, not blogging every weekend has been strange. I have loved spending time doing other things (like resting, working on a few projects for church, and resting some more), but I have to admit I miss not updating you every weekend with what's happening during my week.

I still feel its the right direction for me at this moment and time, in part because I'm busy helping set up our Children's Church program and two I want to spend more time focused on our Women's Ministry.

Last Saturday I spoke to a few of the women at WABC during our first Winter Tea. Honestly, I love doing stuff like this but I didn't want it to be the stereotypical "Women's Ministry Tea" (notice there are no hats or fancy teacups? Not that I don't think they have a place). I don't know about you but at this point in my life I crave just a bit more...........words of inspiration, a deeper connection with women, and an even deeper connection with God.

Just getting together for the sake of getting together doesn't always work for me. So this year we are adding a few things to our list. We will still do our "Girlfriend's Night Out" events where we just get together to fellowship, but we are also adding a Beth Moore Bible Study!!!! Can I get an Amen? I'm soo excited about this I can't keep it to myself (we are also headed back to the Women of Faith Conference in August).

We have a great noonday bible study going on right now and from everything I have heard our ladies are enjoying it. Coming out on Wednesday nights are hard for some of our older ladies, so this has been great for them. I'm hoping our Summer bible study will have the same effect with some of our younger women.

We had a great time at the "Tea". Great food, great fellowship, great prizes, and thanks to group publishing we had some great discussion (during the lunch portion the different hostess at each table used devotional kits with questions for the women to discuss). I even I made it through my "speech" without fainting. I know it wasn't me but God, because the old Cyndi would have been shaking like a leaf and would have probably passed out. I love it when he reminds me I'm not the one in control and that he has my back. If you had told me last year that I would be speaking I would have laughed. I won't make that mistake again. Take it from me...never underestimate God's plan for your life!

Few of My Favorite Things Take2

My oldest daughter Quisha had this bright idea to give us a "family" gift for Christmas.



This is Nicki and I cracking up because we had actually "guessed" weeks ago that it was a Wii.

Each of us was given a part of the game set to open. I'm not sure Marc even knew what he had in his hand. LOL

And as you can see by this picture ......."TJ" was thrilled. HAHA!

I put on a big smile, but in fact the thought of me playing with a game system seemed laughable. I've made it no secret that I am not a sports fan, or competitive by nature. So as much as I thought the game was a great idea for the kids to play with. I didn't see the benefits to my family as a whole. Until........I saw this (look below).

Marc loves the Wii bowling game. As a matter of fact he loves it so much that we have seen him downstairs more then I have seen him since he was sick a few years ago and was unable to get to his office because of the stairs (at one point he tried to hop upstairs not long after getting out of the hospital, but it backfired because it took so much effort he was to tired to do anything once he got up there. Plus, he realized he would have to come back down).

And then there is this one. She plays Wii with the intensity that she does everything else in life. The girl had us rolling over the holidays when she played the boxing game. Don't take my word for it. Just watch this. I wasn't sure where she got it from until I saw her dad in action.

I still have not touched the Wii. But next week we are suppose to get Wii fit and everyone has told me I will love it and that its good for me. The one thing I do love about Wii is how its brought my family together. If someone had told me a game system could do that I would have laughed. But now even I get the Wii commercial where they talk about how it creates a family bond. And that folks is why the Wii is one of my new favorite things!