{May}hem & the Catch-up Game

Hello all!

Well, here we go again---my bi-monthly post with promises of being more consistent...we'll see how the consistency part goes! =)

The Lord has been so good to Titus & I, and in the past few months I feel that we have, by God's grace, grown individually and as a couple. It seems like the Lord is preparing us for a specific ministry in Detroit & I am so thankful that He has blessed me with Titus, who is the strength to all of my weaknesses.

Speaking of my handsome hubby, he had an awesome opportunity back in May to take a 10 day mission trip to Brasil to help construct a church.

The Lord allowed them to get a lot down & make some great friendships, but I missed Titus so much!

One morning, he sent me a facebook message & told me he had had an accident, but "don't worry, nothing serious. It is actually pretty funny!" Well, later in the day I had an opportunity to Skype with him and...it wasn't funny! Long story short, if you look in the picture above you can see the construction site. There were high walls of clay all around, & one of those big chunks of clay (about 1000lbs I was told) fell on Titus' head while he was working with a pick ax. It pushed him down the hill, pick ax & all, and several of the Brasilian construction workers said it was the scariest accident they had seen in over 20yrs. Titus walked away with some bruises & cuts, but he was completely fine! Praise the Lord! Such a reminder though to be so thankful for my loved ones, & to not pray so flippantly about safety.

These twins got very attached to Titus in the short time he was there. Titus gave a great challenge in church after he returned; we don't have to travel halfway across the world to engage in "missions." We have missions in our own backyard. Needy people who don't know how much Christ loves them, & the only thing they know of Christians is the hypocritical ones they know, or the angry, condescending legalistic stereotype that all of us have encountered at one point or another. Why not get out into your community & find just one person you can be Christ's hands & feet for?

The rest of May and the beginning of June was a blur as school wrapped up, I got to go up to Wisconsin unexpectedly to surprise my mom as she graduated with her degree in accounting! I am SOOOOO proud of her hard work and perseverance. She has always been such an example to me, & I am so thankful for her & the opportunity to be her daughter =)

Titus & I will be spending the rest of this month & most of July at Northland Camp; the place God has used greatly in both of our lives. Titus has quite a lot of responsibilities & I am so proud of him for the long hours he works, & also his care for those around him. I am working as the finance secretary, which I have actually enjoyed quite a bit! I stay busy, but God has also given me some extra time to read more, work on my TESOL class, & talk with others. It has been refreshing & much needed after so much change & honestly--- a few months of draining work in the daycare. The study of Philippians that we are doing this summer has been so rebuking, but also encouraging for me. God is just teaching me once again of His goodness and faithfulness, & I am so thankful for all He has given me.

A Series of Fortunate Events

Well, I am building my way up to regularly blogging! I am determined to get there :) For now, I'll fill you in on the past few weeks.

Spring break actually had a small sliver of spring weather after a brutal winter. Unfortunately, I came down with the nastiest stomach flu I've ever had...so I was quarantined inside our apartment for the day that it snowed! Thankfully, I recovered quickly (with the care of my sweet husband), & on Thursday we were able to carry out the plans we'd had for the day we both had off.
Though Detroit has been given quite a stigma recently, many areas of it are still very beautiful & great to explore! I have been dying to visit the Detroit Institute of Arts for several months, so we finally made it down there. 

We spent several hours enjoying all of the exhibits! Our favorites were the Egyptian exhibit, & the other ancient exhibits. Though many of the paintings were breathtaking!

Later that evening, we had the awesome privilege of going to see the Casting Crowns "Thrive" tour...man, blown away by how blessed I was! I a so thankful for Mark Hall's ministry. The band still serves at their local church Sunday through Wednesday, then they do concerts Thursday through Saturday. Before each concert, the group walks through each venue...every aisle...and they pray for all the people who will be attending that evening. Their new album is based on the concept of taking root deeply into God's word, then reaching out & loving others. Just like the tree described in Psalm 1; it serves its purpose best when it is receiving nutrients. We as Christians can be friendly towards people all we want, but if it is not based in the truth of the gospel, it is frivolous. On the flip side, we can study all we want & master theological arguments, yet if we are not loving others with what we are learning, that also is not fulfilling the purpose that God made us for. As believers, we must study God's Word earnestly, then as James says---real faith works! Don't be a hearer only...put what you read into action & reach out to love on others & point them to Christ!

Thanks to the generosity of so many people, we still have some gift cards from our wedding! We enjoyed a fun date night at Red Lobster the following evening :)

Then...we got a puppy!! It was on St. Patricks day! We named him Mason, & he is a sweetheart. 

When we first got him, all he wanted to do was cuddle...now he's a bit more mischievous. 

See how sweet he was? He still is...but he has become VERY attached to Titus...he hardly comes to me when Titus is home. Except while I was writing this post he kept trying to climb into my lap. Haha! What a stinker :)

My series of fortunate events continued by God allowing me to meet up with these sweet friends from college. Debbie & Grace were on spring break, & I was in the area to accompany some of our highschool students in the MACS competition. We shopped, got starbucks, & went out for sushi! It was such an unexpected blessing, & I am so thankful it worked out!! God is so kind to give so many gifts :)