"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

What It's All About

On Sunday, I was asked to teach in our Elementary area.  We had several leaders out due to sickness and I was more than happy to step in.  It had been a long time since I was in front of the kids teaching and Sunday was a blast.  I didn't realize how much I missed teaching, but the best part of that experience was toward the end of the service.  I had the opportunity to lead our kids through the salvation prayer.  Four of our kids accepted JESUS into their hearts and nothing beats that!  That is what we live for - to witness the salvation of our little ones.  I am so grateful to God that He allowed me this grand moment because one of the children that said the prayer was my niece Elizabeth.  I am so blessed that I was able to lead my niece to an eternity with JESUS!  She was so excited and to be able to pray with her and talk with her afterward was a moment I will treasure for the rest of my life.  I know that Elizabeth will continue to follow God and I know that she is going to bring glory to Him in all that she does.  I am so proud of her.  I am so proud of the C-Kids team for what they do week in and week out to prepare our little ones for powerful moments such as these.  I am so proud of our church and the importance it places on our C-Kids ministry.  I love where God has placed me at this time in my life and I pray for nothing more than to bring Him glory through the lives of the children I am so fortunate to serve.  TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

It's A Good Thing

I'm addicted to coke and not coffee.  Sorry to all my Starbucks addict friends,  but it looks like February 26th is going to be a long day for you guys.  Here's to the coke side of life. :)

Could It Be Any Longer

Alright, so it looks like I almost made it two months of not blogging.  My, my time sure flies.  I cannot believe that my last post was before Christmas.  I would love to recount everything that has happened since I was last on here, but I can barely remember what happened last week....so I will share what is on my mind as of now.

1.  2008 has started off in fine form.  Lots of exciting things are taking place at church.  We are seeing growth and witnessing life-change like crazy.  It is such an exciting time to be part of Cornerstone Church.

2.  I've made some changes, not resolutions, but some little changes that are going to illicit some huge results, so that is always good.  I will share some of those at a later time. 

3.  I can't get over how much my nieces and nephew are growing.  My eldest niece will soon be venturing into the world of Middle School.  I know she will do great.  I don't know how the rest of us are going to do.

4.  I've been sick for quite a while, it's nice to actually talk without having a coughing spell. 

5.  Extremely glad that the Giants beat the Patriots.  It was nice seeing Peyton Manning there.  He's such a doll. 

6.  God just answered a huge prayer.  Can we say Ephesians 3:20 kind of prayer.  Yea God!

7.  Been reading some cool blogs lately.  They are really stretching my thinking.

8.  Excited that there might be a New Kids On The Block reunion.  Yes, I was that girl who loved them and was a fanatic about them-especially Jordan Knight. 

9.  Our Staff Meetings have been rockin' lately. 

10.  I have an awesome trio of Children's Coordinators. 

11.  I'm going to New York in September for my b-day, just found that out.

12.  The other day I found myself re-telling the story of our first few services when Cornerstone began.  It is amazing to witness how far God has brought us in these last few years.  Amazing.

13.  It's time to go to the shooting range again.

14.  I have great friends.

15.  I'm excited to be going to some conferences in the next month.

16.  Read a cool little prayer today.  "God, please help me be the person my dog thinks I am."

17.  Been having great quiet times.

18.  My pets act like children.  I am mother to 2 dogs and 5 cats.

19.  Easter will be here soon.

20.  Love is all around you.

Amazing

I am so proud of our church!  Today we celebrated the final day of S.O.C.K.s (Serving Our Community's Kids) You can find out more about it here.  What an amazing day!  Our church came together and is going to make Christmas a reality for some local children.  Tonight, we went shopping for gifts on the wishlists of the kids that we are going to help.  Thanks to the generosity of our church we were able to purchase every single item that was requested from the children and then some.  We will also be providing meals for each family.  On Tuesday, many from our church will come together to wrap the gifts and prepare the meals and then we will make our way to go and deliver all the goods.  It is such a fantastic time when we get to do this.  We talk to the family, we give the kids their gifts, and we share the love of Christ with them.  To see the children light up with their gifts is overwhelming, just to know that the spirit of Christmas is alive makes everything worth giving.  It is a wonderful time of sharing Christ and reaching out to our community.  I am so blessed by the generosity of our church and I am so excited about Tuesday.  Make plans to join us in the C-kids building on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and come be part of the fun.

Without them...it wouldn't be possible

Yesterday John Atkinson of Bay Area Fellowship wrote a great post on appreciating volunteers.  I couldn't agree more with what he said and I am grateful for the wonderful volunteers that God has blessed Cornerstone Church with.  At Cornerstone we refer to our volunteers as leaders, because they are leading in the area that they serve.  I am especially grateful for the leaders that make up our Cornerstone Kids Ministry.  They are a great bunch of humble, excited, talented, gifted, creative, and loving people.  I could go on and on.  I am so thankful for their service every week.  They serve with an incredible energy and they love to love on our kids.  They truly are a big part of making Sunday the best day of the week for our kids. 

Last Friday, we had our Christmas party for our C-Kids Leaders and it was a great time of just hanging out and appreciating all that our leaders do.  And last night, I treated my 3 coordinators to dinner in appreciation for all their work and for all the hard work they did to make our Christmas party a success.  It was just a little bit of thanks for them, but like John posted, you can never say thank you enough and sometimes its nice to put action to your words. 

I appreciate everything my leaders do and Sundays would not run without the leadership of LJ, Yadira, and Micki.  I am so grateful for their service and their dedication.  Cornerstone is truly blessed and I am blessed to serve alongside amazing people who have committed themselves to the vision of our church and to serve the wonderful children that come through our doors.

Happy Birthday Lexi!

Yesterday we celebrated my youngest niece's birthday.  Alexa turned 5.  She had a great day!  My sister and I took her out to lunch.  She chose Chili's cause "they sing Happy Birthday there."  She was so excited.  She sang Happy Birthday to herself as loud as she could as we waited for our food to arrive and she loved when the waiters came out to sing to her.  The family got together in the evening and had a wonderful time ushering in the big 5.  We went to dinner at Mr. Gatti's and had fun playing at all the games.  I love watching my niece's excitement and the joy that she has for life.  She is smart and very funny.  I wish I had an ounce of her energy.  She was so grateful with all her gifts and loved every minute of her celebration.  I know God is going to do something great in Alexa and I can't wait to watch it happen.  I love my little monkey.

Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself.....

Ellen is thinking for me with this post....

MEMORY

My memory is just getting worse. People tell to me to take Ginkgo Biloba, but if you can remember to take Ginkgo Biloba every day, then you don’t need it. Sometimes I write myself a note to help me remember something. But I’ll read it later and it makes no sense. “Sahara Pipeline? Why did I write that?” Or I’ll think of something in the middle of the night and write it down in the dark. In the morning I can’t read my own writing. “Don’t forget to wring the shooman tater” What? I try to remember to write more clearly. …but then I forget.

My memory is getting worse. Did I already say that? I’ll be at a party and someone’s boyfriend or girlfriend is coming at me and I can’t remember their name. So I quickly start to go through the alphabet. A – Alice, Abby, Amy…no. B –Betty, Becky, Butter…no. C – …I’ve forgotten all the names that start with C. Sometimes I hear a song and can’t remember who sings it. It’ll drive me crazy the whole day. Then at 3 in the morning, I’ll bolt upright in bed and scream “Beyonce!” It really scares the cats. Then I write it down. …but in the morning I’ve forgotten again and I can’t read what I wrote.

New Love

I have found a new love....shooting a gun.  It is exhilirating.  I loved it.  I had never held a gun before, much less shoot one.  I went to the shooting range today and thanks to my buddy, Bob, I am now able to find my way around a gun.  It was so much fun.  I can't wait to go out there again.  Here are some pics.

Before I took my first shot.

    I think I am going to love this.

Reflection

As Thanksgiving is upon us, it is fitting that I take some time out to reflect on what I am thankful for and to give God glory for His faithfulness and for blessings that I know are undeserved, but somehow make their way to me.  I have so many reasons to be thankful, but here are the top 10.

1.  I am thankful for my salvation.  Thankful that God sent his son, JESUS, to bear my burden and to take my place.  I am thankful for my life verse and for the purpose behind it.  This verse says that Jesus gave it all for me and I can live because He lives in me. I am thankful that Jesus guides, teaches, disciplines, and loves me.

2.  I am thankful for my parents.  My mom and dad are two of the greatest blessings.  I am fortunate to have them and I am inspired and encouraged by them every day.

3.  I am thankful for my brother Loui and for my sister Lisa.  They are two awesome people and I am privileged to be their sister.  They make me laugh and they are passionate about what they do.  We love, support, and look out for one another.  The coolest thing is we get to do ministry together.  It's a blast!

4.  I am thankful for my precious nieces and nephew.  I have the honor of spoiling 3 beautiful girls and 1 baby boy.  My nieces are pure joy.  We always have a great time.  And my nephew, well what can I say, at 7 months, he's already so spoiled.

5.  I am thankful for my pets.  I am thankful that I have 2 awesome dogs and 5 know-it-all cats.  I love animals.  I want to get another dog.  Hopefully soon.

6. I am thankful for my friends.  I have some great friends that I share my life with.  I am close to a precious few and I am truly blessed by their friendship.

7.  I am thankful for the Cornerstone Kids team.  I am humbled and excited to partner with the people that I do children's ministry with.  They are a bunch of selfless, giving, enthusiastic leaders and I am amazed by them and the gifts that they bring to our team.

8.  I am thankful for our Pastor.  Pastor Loui is a great man of vision and purpose.  He's a great leader and I am blessed beyond measure to partner with him and the rest of our staff at Cornerstone Church.  Our Pastor's desire is to make the name of Jesus known throughout our Valley and our world.  His passion and drive inspire me.  He allows his staff to be the leaders they need to be.  He does a great job of leading us and I thank him for supporting us and for leading Cornerstone they way God wants Him to. 

9.  I am thankful for grief.  As odd as that seems, I am thankful that God has seasons designated like that for us.  Without grief, we would never be able to truly appreiciate the good that God has blessed us with.  This past year, I have witnessed grief in different forms.  It's always hard, but always worth it.

10.  I am thankful for my freedom.  I am thankful for the men and women who defend our country.  I am thankful for the men and women who have defended our country.  We are a nation of freedom because of the sacrifice of so many.  Our brave men and women deserve every ounce of gratitude and recognition.  They are heroes and have truly embraced what it means to serve.

So, as I reflect on my thanksgiving, I am thankful for so many blessings.  I am truly blessed and completely blown away as to God's giving.  I am so humbled by His love and so thankful for what He has blessed me with.  I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you take a moment to reflect on all that you have to be thankful for.

Operation Christmas Child

Had a great time at church today.  It is always great when our kids can be part of the service and today was a blast!  Every year, Cornerstone takes part in a great ministry outreach called Operation Christmas Child.  Through this great ministry, we get to reach out to children around the world by providing them with gift-filled shoe boxes and the message of Jesus Christ.  It is wonderful to see our church reach out and to see our children discover the joy of giving and serving others.  Operation Christmas Child is a great way to kick-off the Christmas season.  Here are a few pics from the shoebox dedication.