Fun With the Neikirk's!

Last night I had the privelage of going and hanging out with the Neikirk kids for the evening. We had a great time... Jared made us all delicious pizza, we played games, read books, Lacey made us dessert. What more could you ask for?!



Lacey making dessert with leftover Bruster's sundae bar toppings :)


Kennedy and Trevor were ready for theirs



Justino showing us all his guitar skills


Silly faces...

Sweet Mary

Something was funny :-p

Thanks Neikirk kids for letting me hang out with ya'll for the night! I had lots of fun!

Girl's Night Out

This past Wednesday night Lana and I had the opportunity to spend the night with some of the high school and middle school girls from church. We had a great time goofing off and getting to know the girls better. I was very encouraged talking with them all and hearing what's going on in their life. I was also able to spend some time praying with one of the girls. It was a wonderful evening!



Lana and Lacey


Sweet Laura and Lydia


Lacey painted my nails :)

Sisters!

Laura and Lydia

Cici, Lacey, and Victoria at The Loop

Victoria and I patiently waiting for Karah =)

Recent Pictures

Mi
This was last Friday night...we were all driving to go somewhere and we hit completely stopped traffic on the highway. We sat there for about 30 minutes and the boys got out of their cars...boys will be boys :-p (Jason, Kevin, and Ryan)


Elisa

At our last home group meeting I had child care and taught all the kids on being kind to every member of your friends family. The following are all the kiddos (the one's that were there) with their beautifully colored pictures...


Carter


Zion


Josiah

Tyler

Photo taken by Elisa =)

During the National Championship game... Gotta have a few goofy shots :-p

Cutie pa tootie!

And just incase some of you forgot. THE GATOR'S WON!!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Phew! Things have begun to get very busy for my family again. We’re always busy, but this week has been exceptionally CRAZY…Spring Garden Centers have opened back up! Over the weekend we got everything closed at Bruster’s and on Monday we started opening a few garden center locations (That is how my dad does things, when he closes one business, he opens another :) ). This year we have six locations, all in Jacksonville. I’m loving everything I’ve been doing, especially the fact that I’m able to work out of our home with my mom. I must say that I’ve got the best co-workers in the world! =) Hopefully the initial chaos will slow down a bit over the next few weeks.

I’m still receiving many phone calls and e-mails asking how I’ve been feeling! Once again, thank you all so much! I’m almost completely better! Praise the Lord! I’ve still got a slight cough and every now and then will have tightness in my breathing. I’m just happy to be able to get back to work. I’ve kissed the couch goodbye! =)

On anther note…this weekend Amber and I are taking a mini road trip down to Orlando on Saturday to visit some friends and go to a couple meetings. I’m pretty excited! So if you live in Orlando and didn’t know that, surprise… we’re coming! =) Can’t wait to see you all!!!

A Story of God's Faithfulness...

Sunday morning I was wide awake at 5:30. I sat there thinking of many reasons why I would be awake (not feeling great), so early without hearing the sound of my obnoxious alarm clock. There was no falling back asleep! So I began reading my Bible. After a few minutes of flipping through different passages I began to notice a trend in what I was reading. Everything I’d been reading was on suffering and trials. At that point I realized God was doing something. I then began pulling various scripture verses that I normally turn to when my soul is in turmoil or in the “miry bog” and combined them all together. When I arrived to church on Sunday morning I shared what I’d come up with. It turned out they (the pastors and worship leader) had already planned to invite people to come forward to read scripture that they turn to when feeling weak and are walking through difficult seasons. At that point I was just amazed at how God works! There I was, wide awake (way too early!) and I had no idea why I wasn’t able to sleep… But God did! We had a wonderful time of worship as a church Sunday morning as many people were able to encourage others with scripture. It’s times like this one that I’m freshly provoked to run hard after God and bask in His glory. He truly is an AWESOME Father! To Him be ALL the glory!

The following is what I shared on Sunday morning. If you are walking through fiery trials, be encouraged, because as scripture proclaims, God is our stronghold in times of trouble!...

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I am strengthening you, I will help you, I will up hold your righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10) Blessed are those who remain steadfast under trial, for when you have stood the test you will receive the crown of life, which I have promised to those who love me (James 1:12). Though passing through the waters, I am with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you (Isaiah 43:2), for we know that God is working these slight and momentary afflictions for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28) and they are preparing us for an eternal weight of glory (2 Cor 4:17), they are producing for us endurance in the race set before us. Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds (James 1:12) for I am good, a stronghold in times of trouble. (Nahum 1:7)

Psalm 23:4- “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me.”

The B-I-B-L-E, yes that's the book for me!

While in high school I became quite fond of reading books on theology and the Christian Life. I can remember many days (while doing school) wanting to go read a book on biblical relationships, biblical femininity, God’s holiness, etc. But I can’t recount many days that I ran to my Bible with excitement. When I did read my Bible I viewed it as a daily chore… Though all the books I read were great and helpful, it didn’t take long for me to realize that those books were not where my true source of joy was going to come from.

Over the past few years, by His grace, God’s placed a desire and delight in my heart to read scripture and learn more about Him. One of the greatest means of helping me get to where I am now was listening to a message John Piper spoke at New Attitude 2008, “Fighting for Faith with God’s Word.” If you haven’t already, I HIGHLY recommend you listening to it! Recently at a church singles meeting we listened to that same message again. One thing John Piper encouraged us to do was memorize and write out scripture. Shortly after New Attitude I began to memorize different passages of scripture that I felt would be helpful for me to have in my head while struggling in different areas or verses I found to be encouraging while journeying through different seasons. I've benefited greatly from doing that!

One thing I’ve always been prone to do when reading the Bible is jump straight to The New Testament. There are books in the Old Testament that I enjoy reading (especially The Psalms) and many verses I love, but I’ve never read completely through it. If I did read the OT it would be something I would read over really quickly and then wouldn’t spend much time afterwards studying or meditating on it. So with that said, something I’ve recently started doing and have found to be a tremendous help, is writing out scripture. I’m not just talking about writing down a verse here and there, but writing large passages. This practice has required me to think hard about what I’m reading especially if it’s really early in the morning. :) I started in Genesis and have been working my way through. Yes, it does take more time than just reading the passage, but it’s totally worth it!

Maybe this is something that would be helpful for you too! May I encourage you to try… it doesn’t take much, just a pen and paper. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes!

Doctors Visit Update...

I've spent pretty much all of today at the doctor's office, the hospital getting X-rays, and the pharmacy. It turns out I have a pretty bad case of Bronchitis which explains why I’ve been having difficulty breathing! While at the doctors I did a medicated breathing treatment which helped my breathing pulse go up and made me very dizzy and shaky. They also gave me a steroid shot to get a jump start on getting things cleared up. I got the X-rays done because they wanted to check for Pneumonia… they came back negative so that is good news. I will say that I’ve been feeling a little tipsy and nauseous today… The doctor’s really drugged me up! They gave me an antibiotic for my cough, two kinds of nose sprays to clear up my head, some sort of powder made up of a steroid and something else I can’t even pronounce :), not to mention all the over the counter medications I’ve been taking. I will continue doing the steam breathing treatments at home a couple times a day which will open up my lungs and help the medicine work quicker.

Please be praying for strength as my body is feeling physically weak. I’ve been pushing myself pretty hard this week and it’s catching up to me. Karah has also been sick, so if you think of it, please keep her in your prayers as well. Thanks!

The Lord is My Shepherd

After many trips down to Bruster’s over the past couple weeks, we are almost done clearing out the store! My mom and I spent the whole day cleaning, throwing stuff in the dumpster, and moving stuff home. Hopefully by the end of the day tomorrow everything will be done and we can officially lock up the doors. It could have been done today but mom and I both agreed that was all our backs could handle and the dumpster was about to overflow. =)

As for me I’m still fighting a cough and having difficulty breathing. I’m heading back to the doctor’s tomorrow to see what’s up and hopefully get another antibiotic.

The Lord continues to remind me of His faithfulness and love through difficult times. He has been good!!! I cannot thank you all enough for your care and constant prayers! I’ve been richly blessed!

This morning during my quiet time I read Psalm 23. No matter how many times I read it through, I find more and more comfort and rest in the Savior and that brings me much joy!

Psalm 23- “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me… Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Wait, be still, trust, and obey!

This past weekend I received a letter in the mail from my friend Damaris. God has been using this friend countless times to speak truth in my life. In the letter she took time to write out some quotes from one of my favorite books “Keep a Quiet Heart” by Elizabeth Elliot. These exact words were convicting to me a year and a half ago when I read the book and are just as convicting and encouraging today. I pray if you’re in a season of waiting, you find the wise and biblical advise from Elizabeth Elliot to be encouraging to you as well!

“The tests of our willingness to wait patiently for the Lord come almost daily. Waiting requires patience- a willingness calmly to accept what we have or have not, where we are or where we wish we were, whomever we live or work with. To want what we don’t have is impatience, for one thing, and it is to mistrust God. Is He not in complete control of all circumstances, events and conditions?...

It is here and now that we must win our victories and suffer defeats. Spiritual victories are won in the quiet acceptance of ordinary events, which are God’s “bright servants” standing all around us….

Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands. (John 14:27) What sort of peace has He to give us? A peace which was constant in the midst of ceaseless work (with few visible results), frequent interruptions, impatient demands, few physical comforts; a peace which was not destroyed by the arguments, the faithlessness, and the hatred of the people. Jesus has perfect confidence in His Father… Nothing touches me without my Father’s permission. Can I not then wait patiently? He will show the way…

If I am willing to be still in my master’s hand, can I not then be still in everything?... If I mean to be obedient and submissive to the Lord because He is my Lord, I must not forget that whatever He allows to happen becomes, for me, His will at that moment. Look to Him for the outcome….

His message to me everyday is wait, be still, trust, and obey!!!"

-Elizabeth Elliot, “Keep a Quiet Heart” p. 134-136

Psalm 25:4- "Make me to know your ways O, Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long."

When we cannot see our way
Let us trust and still obey
He who bids us forward goes
Cannot fail the way to show
Though the sea be deep and wide
Though a passage seem denied,
Fearless let us still proceed,
Since the Lord vouchsafes to lead

Update....

Over the weekend I was able to continue resting…. I didn’t feel up to leaving the house at all, which is most definitely not like me…I missed church, a church picnic, our singles meeting, and had to cancel babysitting for someone. I decided to go out with my parents yesterday afternoon for about an hour just to get out of the house and walk around a little while. I haven’t been able to do much physically without having a hard time breathing because of the horrible cough I’ve had. I’ve been on breathing treatments for the past couple days which seem to be helping a little bit.

I did have to work some today and I think I might have pushed myself a little bit too hard. I’m definitely ready for all of this to end! Continued prayer would be great! Thanks!

Happy Balumtine'th Day!

Be sure to pause the music before watching... :)

Singleness and Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day or should I say Single Awareness Day is tomorrow….

As a single girl, I’m fully aware of the temptation to be discontent in the season of singleness on Valentine’s Day. Tomorrow let’s not be tempted to have self pity attitudes but think of ways we can serve others. Maybe this is a day to bless your grandfather, dad, or brothers…Maybe even babysit for a family with young children. This season of singleness if EXACTLY where God has called us to be and until (Lord willing) “Mr. Right” does come along let’s continue to serve Christ to the best of our abilities!

Below are two different blog posts that two of my very godly girl friends recently posted on their blogs. May I encourage all my single sisters in Christ to read them and then take some time to evaluate your heart in preparation for this Valentine’s Day….

Janelle Leach
Jenn Romanski

Still Couch Bound...

Today my dear friend Damaris quoted the following to me:

"God uses sickness as a means of grace because it's the only way He slows you down."

Man have I been believing that today! This sickness has caused me to literally do nothing besides sleep, look at a TV or computer, and read lots of books. Though it’s been pretty miserable, I’ve been able to spend quite a bit of time in the Word and I can say that I’ve definitely benefited from this time of resting even though it's has NOT been fun!

Thank you so much to those of you who’ve asked if you can bring me anything. I’m so very blessed to have such caring friends! My mom and all my sisters have been absolutely amazing…they’ve brought me anything I’ve needed! Amber sat and watched “The Dark Night” with me even though she hates those types of movies (she was a little freaked out!) I just laugh at all the freaky parts! :-p

A BIG thanks to those who have been praying for me! I’m grateful for you all!

Feeling Yucky!

In the midst of all the Bruster’s craziness this week I’ve come down with a bronchial and sinus infection. I’ve pretty much been couch bound! Today my best friends have been books, tissues, cough drops, Sudafed and Ibuprofen. Thank the Lord for doctors, z-packs, inhalers, and moms that seem to know the cure for everything!!!

Many dear friends have called/text me today asking if they can bring or do anything for me. I’ve felt quite bad for the people that have tried to understand me attempting to talk to them on the phone. Ha-ha it really is a horrible sound! It’s funny that the first question I’ve been asked is, “did I wake you up?” The first thoughts that have come to my mind have been, “well I sure do hope that I don’t sound this bad when I first wake up in the morning!” What an opportunity to practice humility!

I would really appreciate your prayers as there are many things that still need to be done with closing Bruster’s and as of right now I don’t see myself getting off the couch too soon. :-/ Thanks!

Closed....

This past weekend I told some of you, but I know there’s a lot of people that haven’t heard that this past Sunday we closed our other Bruster’s store (the one that’s been open). We knew we would be extremely slow through the winter but up to this point there has been a drastic difference in sales figures (due to the economic down fall) from last year and we knew it was only getting worse. This has been very difficult for my family, especially my dad and grandfather. Everyone is just now finding out because we had to keep it top secret mainly because we couldn’t chance word some how getting to the land owners of the store properties and all the employees…. That has been an ordeal in and of it self!

My dad told me about a month ago he was going to close the store but it didn’t really hit me that is was actually happening until last week when my dad came down with Jonathan for the first time in six months to start moving some stuff into storage. It was actually kind of sad ….I didn’t realize how emotionally attached I had gotten! The whole Bruster’s ordeal has been a long journey for me. There will be many things that I will miss and many things that I will most definitely not miss! I’m so very grateful for all the different things I learned while managing both the stores, but am even more grateful for all that God did in my heart during the two years I worked for Bruster’s. Though at many times this whole process has been pretty challenging for me, I can truly say that God has been good to me! Driving home from the store today with my dad he reminded me that though it’s a BIG bummer the store had to close, in light of eternity these stores will not matter one little bit and that brought much peace to my soul.

Please be praying as we still have a lot of work to do with closing the store. Though it’s not open to customers there’s a lot of clean up to be done and stuff that I’m not even going to try explain. =) My dad also has a long process ahead of him to get out of our leases.

You’re all probably wondering what I’m going to be doing now work wise. Well, I’m going to continue working for my parents…Garden Centers are about to open back up again so I’m mainly going to be working out of our house helping my mom with book keeping and will be doing some on site work every now and then when it’s needed. I will be doing that all the way through June and my dad and I are thinking about some ideas for the fall that we might possibly start up. For me, there’s a lot of things up in the air, but I’m trusting God and am thankful that He already has planned every step I will take today, tomorrow, next year, and the rest of my life. I’m really looking forward to this new season of working in the home with my mom and am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving my family.

I've been resting in the truths that God is Sovereign, that He’s working all of these situations
for our good and His glory, and because He’s been faithful in the past He will be faithful again!

Thank you all for your prayers!

Weekend Fun!

This past weekend was great!

- The weather was simply GORGEOUS!
-Jenn Romanski came to visit from Charlotte!
-Damaris Wells came to visit from Grace Church in Orlando!
-Amber and I went to Gainesville on Friday to go to Stephanie Klinger (now Peterson) and Kyle Peterson’s wedding. During and after the wedding we got to see some dear friends and go to AGCC and hear Allison Gilland sing (David and Angela Gilland sang a couple songs too) while we fellowshipped and played Yatzee!
- Worship on Sunday morning was amazing!
- And we ended the fun last night by watching the Emperors New Groove. That movie never gets old!

The Lord has been so faithful to meet over this past week! I will share some more on that over the next couple days.

Here are some pictures… some of them are from a couple weekends ago.

Feeling Spent?

I don’t have much time to post today but would like to leave you with the following:

Forsake Me Not When My Strength is Spent- Psalm 71:

“...Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come… For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. Upon you I have leaned from before my birth…I have been as a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day…. O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!.... But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone….You who have done great things, O God, who is like you? You have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again… My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.”

Oh how encouraging the above Psalm has been to me today… I pray if you're feeling “spent” today that it encourages you as well!

True and Lasting Joy

"Saving faith is the confidence that if you sell all you have and forsake all sinful pleasures, the hidden treasure of holy joy will satisfy your deepest desires. Saving faith is the heartfelt conviction not only that Christ is reliable, but also that He is desirable. It is the confidence that He will come through with His promises and that what He promises is more to be desired than all the world." -John Piper

Wow! The quote above sure has gotten me thinking! How about you? Is there anything in your life that you’re treasuring more than Christ? Let’s stop and ask ourselves.... Is there anything in my life that would be/is difficult for me to give up? (Car, money, internet, house, cell phone, TV, etc.) Would I be ok if I had to sell everything I have right now? Is Christ more than enough for me?

Godliness is great gain; but only when accompanied by contentment! We should crave things that glorify God, not the things that bring satisfaction to the world, for they are slight and momentary compared to the glory of eternity. It is very easy to come up with reasons and excuses of why the sins of greed and materialism don’t apply to us. But whenever we think getting something material, or getting more of it, will answer our life’s needs, we lack this contentment. Whenever we are deeply grieved at material loss, we lack this contentment. Whenever we get an inordinate pleasure from buying or having some material thing, we lack this contentment. A heart of contentment begins with seeing our material possessions and resources in an eternal perspective. The desire to be rich can really only be satisfied in Jesus Christ, and satisfied with spiritual riches rather than material ones. Everything else falls short. God has commanded us not to be conformed to the world (Romans 12:2). If there is something that we’re treasuring more than Christ, let’s stop and repent and ask God to help us find Christ as the GREATEST joy of our heart.

1 John 2:15-17- “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions- is not from the Father but is form the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Take all I am, Lord, and all that I cling to
You are my Savior I owe everything to
Take all the treasures that lie in my storehouse
They cannot follow when I enter Your house

Take all my cravings for vain recognition
Fleshly indulgence and worldly ambition
Iwant so much Lord to make You the focus
To serve You in secret and never be noticed

Take all my hunger for all that’s forbidden
Every desire and sin I keep hidden
Search me and know me I want to bring to You
A life that is holy and sanctified through You

Rich Dalmas- SG Music

Crazy Book and Music Sale

If you haven’t already heard about the Sovereign Grace Ministries book and music sale that’s going on for the month of February, then read below:

We’re doing it again. Having a ridiculous sale, that is.

Last year, during the month of February, we reduced the prices of our CDs and books. The response was overwhelming. So we decided to repeat the lunacy. Here’s the deal:

From February 1–28, at the Sovereign Grace store, you’ll find these prices:

* Sovereign Grace books (23 of them, including Worship Matters, Worldliness, and Living the Cross Centered Life): $7 each

* all CDs produced by Sovereign Grace Music (including Together for the Gospel Live, Psalms, Come Weary Saints, Awesome God, In a Little While, and Valley of Vision): $6 each

* all books in our Pursuit of Godliness series (Why Small Groups, This Great Salvation, and others): $4 each

But wait…there’s more!

During February, we’re offering our normal free shipping in the continental US (library rate). But on all international orders we’re offering a discount of 50% on USPS First Class International shipping.

Why are we doing this? Well, we figure that most of us have been affected by the present economic crisis. We want to do whatever we can to make it easier for people to benefit from what we produce. We want to serve churches and individuals by providing biblically informed, gospel-centered resources at a low cost. And we’d really like to give it all away, but for now, that’s not financially feasible…

So we offer the February sale. Enjoy. And feel free to tell your friends.

Get the goods at: http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/

His Grace is Sufficient!

2 Corinthians 12:9- “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Isaiah 40:29- “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.”

His power is made PERFECT in my weakness! How comforting the verses above have been to me today! After being sick for the past few days and waking up again this morning feeling even worse the last thing I wanted to do was get up and go into work. I was feeling weak! Though I was feeling weak and am still not feeling great, the Lord was quick to remind me that His grace is sufficient for me to get through today. He's giving me strength and is increasing my strength every second of THIS day….not just the days when everything seems to be going hunky dory. His grace is sufficient EVERY day and He gives us new mercies EVERY morning (Lamentations 3:22).

Perhaps you are feeling the same today. Are you too feeling weak and weary? Maybe your kids were up late last night watching the Super Bowl and today they aren’t cooperating like you would like on top of all the daily tasks that come with Monday’s. Are you scrambling last minute to study for an exam? Are you walking through a difficult circumstance? Are you having a stressful day at work? Are you sick?......

If you too have been feeling weak and weary today, be encouraged, because as the Lord reminded me this morning, His grace is sufficient through everything and He is increasing our strength this very second!

When darkness falls
Temptations call
And all around me seems undone
You hear my pleas
Supply my needs
And tell me of Your wondrous love

You are the joy in my morning
You’re my song of praise
Just like the new day dawning
Flooding my world with grace

Though trials come
And every one
Can take me further from Your truth
You calm my fears
Dry all my tears
And draw me closer, Lord, to You

In You there’s no shadow of turning
Constant in all Your ways
You’re growing my faith and I’m learning to lean
On You all of my days

By Peter Gagnon
As recorded on Come Weary Saints