Joy.

    Remember that song from Sunday School?

I've got that joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart. Down in my heart to stay.

    The next sixteen weeks at church we are studying the book of James. When I heard we were spending sixteen weeks on a five chapter book, I was a little skeptical. But this morning was so amazing! We talked about trials and tribulations.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of all kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith will produce patience."

    When we think of trials, we normally don't think of the word 'joy'. But we fail to realize that when we accept Christ, we are filled with irreplaceable joy. But, whether we choose to live in that joy or not, is our choice.

    Pastor John had a great example today about withstanding a storm. If you look at pictures from a tornado, you see complete devastation. But if you look closely, you can see the trees still standing. Their tops are twisted and their bark is stripped, but they're standing.

This picture is such a beautiful picture of how Christians should lean towards the cross in times of trial.



If we walk closely with God, and we are firm in our faith, when the storm hits, we will endure.

Have an amazing week! :)

I'm Back!

          Hello friends! I am still alive! It has been one crazy week here, and I'm gearing up for another one. Thursday and Friday our church hosted a simulcast event called Global Leadership Summit. Willow Creek hosts this event every year and it's broadcast out to host sites all around the world. This year we had some great speakers and it was a really fun time. Friday night I spent the night at a friends house for her birthday. Then Sunday we had church that morning, and then that evening, Ash and I met up at Sonic and then headed over to the Woodalls house for Dteam. School started today for Nixa, Wednesday for Clever and Republic, and next Thursday for Springfield. Over here at the Garrison School of Higher Learning we don't start until the first week of September. This Sunday we are driving up to St. Louis to visit my dad, who's been working up there for the past month or so. We are going to the zoo and to a Cardinals game. It should be a fun week and I'll update more when I get the chance. Adios!

Hot.

    Holy smokes friends! It has been more than toasty here in the good ole state of Misery for the past two weeks. Yesterday we hit a record high of 108 degrees. 108!!! That didn't even include the heat index. You would think we lived in Arizona. Sheesh....

   I've been up at the office for a couple of days this past week painting offices. There are a lot of changes happening at RBC right now, and I'm really excited about it! Back in September we (finally) started a contemporary service called 10:31. We have kept growing and have outgrown our space. So, starting August 28th, we will be kicking off the 9:01 service! To accommodate the new services, the students will be moving from our Fellowship Center to the Chapel. James will be leading the Senior High, Jessie will be leading the Junior High, and Nate will be leading 9:01, 10:31, and teaching on Wednesday nights. Since all this will be happening, a few of the staff have been switching offices. Yesterday Ryan, Julie, and I painted Nate's office, and they were finishing up today. I am really excited to see how God uses these changes to bring the church together.

  Today, Lance and I went over to the pool for about half an hour. It felt so good to just do nothing! Today is also my bestie's 16th birthday! I'm so excited for her and can't believe she's going to be driving around in no time! Happy Birthday Ash!

  Have a fun and COOL week!