Splashtacular VBS

Last week we had Water Works VBS at our church! Usually I'm not a VBS volunteer... but with a smaller church we all try to help out with everything! So this year I got to help teach/direct the music class!! We had soo much fun splishing and splashing! :)

Here are some pics of the week:

Splish-Splash, it's a Bible Bash!

Awesome!

1000 Awesome Things created by Neil Pasricha:
You can head over to his blog and read his 1000 Awesome Things! I’m going to begin doing my own list of awesome things. Once a week I will post 1 awesome thing about my/our life/week/day.
If you would like to join me on your own blog – copy the picture and link and post your own awesome thing daily/weekly/randomly! This should be fun!

Waking up in the middle of the night looking at the clock and realizing that you still have a couple more hours of sleep! :) Yessss

A BFF Tribute...

Today my eyes were open to what a crapola friend I can be.... My very very dear friend pointed out to me that she has never had a debut on our blog! WHAT!? She is the only one who has visited us, apart from our families, and already has plans in place for the next visit.... The only one that I have to have to see whenever I go home, no matter what else is going on.... And she has yet to make an appearance on the blog!? What a friend I am! So... now... to make up for almost a year of the blog and no picture... I present my BFF, Cathy :)

I miss working with my best friend

And our theraputic Polar Pop walks:

I miss our girls days and pedis and shopping!

We have such great fun together!

You can always lean on me ;)

I love you dear friend!!

A short visit home

When we went home last week we had a great, relaxing and restful time! We really have had to make it a priority that family comes first on our visits home. I got to spend one whole day the girls (my mom & sis) and Koen!! We celebrated mine and my sister's bdays and got some good Koen love in!!

Here are pics of the cutest lil guy at the pool!!!

CHEEEEEEZZE! ;)

Mom... stop!

Are you ready YET!?

With Aunt Diamend and Grandma!

Running sneakliy in the hallway ...

And in making sure that we have most of our times home with our family - we have decided to dedicate one whole evening to any student/church friend who wanted to visit! Here is a couple of us girls at the McIntires!! :)

I miss all my girls!!

A Splashtacular VBS update (w/ pics) coming soon! :)

Blessings,

Diamend

Awesome!

1000 Awesome Things created by Neil Pasricha:
You can head over to his blog and read his 1000 Awesome Things! I’m going to begin doing my own list of awesome things. Once a week I will post 1 awesome thing about my/our life/week/day.
If you would like to join me on your own blog – copy the picture and link and post your own awesome thing daily/weekly/randomly! This should be fun!

Finding out Tony got an A on a paper/test/quiz!!

Winning over Worry

We just got back from a visit home this morning and are already back to work! :) We had such a great time with our family and friends and can't wait to share more! (after some much needed rest)

Until then... my devotional this morning weighed heavy on my heart this morning. I hope you will be inspired by it too...

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

I can be so arrogant when it comes to the control of my life. I set my agenda and then ask God to put His stamp of approval on it. I face difficult circumstances with the attitude that I am capable of handling them on my own. In reality, I am desperate for God. There are so many things I can't do anything about - but God can.

I read about a young woman whose battle with worry prompted her to create a sign that read, "Things I Can't Do Anything About But God Can." Underneath those words, she listed anything in her life that tempted her to worry instead of trusting God. In 1995, I went through a devastating two-year battle with clinical depression. While sitting at the bottom of that deep, dark pit, I discovered that the pit of depression is always filled with waters swimming with worry. I worried about how I got into the pit and how I would or even if I could get out. I worried that my depression would hurt my family and our ministry. I worried about what people would think of me when they saw my weakness and failure. In the darkness, worry made everything seem bigger and uglier than it really was.

Worry helped usher me into the pit and worry was now one of the prisons guards. I desperately wanted to trust God, exchanging my worry for His peace. I read countless books on the subject, described in detail my favorite worries to those who would listen and constantly begged God to take away the anxiety and fear. Nothing worked. I was losing the battle with worry while sinking lower into the grip of darkness. There had to be a way to win over worry.

The journey began with a strong, clear look at the affects of worry in my life. It was not a pretty picture. Worry permeates every area of life, invading peace, warping perspectives and affecting physical and emotional health. Worry is wasted energy. It is consuming, draining and unhealthy. Worry fits this world but it certainly does not fit the picture of a joy-filled life, the life that Jesus came to give us. Nothing will rob you of joy quicker than worry.

God came so that we would not have to worry and yet we continue to do so. During those dark years, I sat at His feet dumping each fear and worry into His capable hands, resting and waiting for deliverance. It came. In today's key passage, Paul gives us the promise of peace. However, there are conditions to be met and actions we must take in order to experience that peace and win over worry.

Choose joy. Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" The Message says it this way: "Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!" The author, Paul, is serious about joy, telling us twice in this passage to rejoice. The word "rejoice" means "to practice joy, to take delight in and be glad." Many times life makes it impossible to be happy but we need to understand that happiness is not what Paul is calling us to. Happiness is a cheap imitation of true joy and totally dependent on the circumstances of life. Joy is a deeply rooted confidence that God is in control no matter what the circumstances of life may be.

Joy is a choice. Paul's situation, while writing this letter, could make you wonder why he was writing about joy, of all things. He was in prison under Roman house arrest, awaiting trial and almost certain execution because of his faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, he tells us to rejoice! Don't miss this life-changing truth! Our inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outward circumstances. In other words, we cannot always find joy in our circumstances but we can always find joy in the Lord of the circumstances. You have probably discovered that there is absolutely no way in this world to escape pain, but we can avoid joy. The pursuit of joy is a matter of choice. Our first and most important choice is to come to the only source of true joy - Jesus Christ. We must also choose to rejoice in the midst of every circumstance - good or bad - and keep our focus on God, gladly accepting His plan for our lives. We must choose a joyful perspective. When we choose joy, we are choosing against worry.

Father, I feel as if worry constantly nips at my heels, trying to steal my joy. Please help me to see life as You see it and to choose Your perspective instead of my own. I ask You to lead me into Your peace as I learn to trust You wholly. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Doesn't that speak to you!? It certainly does me... especially lately! It is a constant battle I have everyday to choose Joy! Choose joy over loneliness. Choose joy over restlessness. Choose joy over unhappiness in a situation. Choose joy over lack of funds.

Are you choosing joy today?

Praying for you!!

Diamend

Awesome!

1000 Awesome Things created by Neil Pasricha:
You can head over to his blog and read his 1000 Awesome Things! I’m going to begin doing my own list of awesome things. Once a week I will post 1 awesome thing about my/our life/week/day.
If you would like to join me on your own blog – copy the picture and link and post your own awesome thing daily/weekly/randomly! This should be fun!

Getting to go home for a weekend and celebrate my sister's bday! :)

The Blur

Well, I know it has been awhile since you last heard from me but it has been busy. In Seminary the time that I am currently going through is called "The Blur." It's called that because if you want to finish your degree program in 3 yrs you have to take summer classes. My spring semester finished up and the very next week I was in class again. So the terms are all meshing together known as The Blur. I want to give you my Spring Semester wrap-up, similar to what I did last Fall Semester.

Elementary Greek II

-This class is a continuation to the one I took in the Fall. I learned new tenses and parts of speech. My prof. was good but he had a tendency to spend too much time on the unimportant stuff and not enough time on the harder stuff. However, I got a B in the class overall and I will continue with Greek this Fall.

New Testament II

-This was my least favorite class, not because of the content but the teacher. Yeah, I got one of "those" teachers. I'm not going to tear him down here but I want you to know that my grade does not reflect my work ethic, but the fact that my teacher told us he doesn't read our papers ALL the way through. And considering 2 of 4 assignments were papers, this could pose a problem. I got a C in the class but I feel that through reading on my own I got an A.

Foundations of Christian Ministry

-This was one of my fun classes. It is part of the pastoral classes I take where we learn about the "how to's". For example, how to marry someone, qualifications of deacons, administer the Lord's Supper...etc. There were only about 12 in the class so we got to have a lot of good discussion. I received an A in this class.

Student Development & Life Issues

-Another student ministry class down! This was a class that taught me the science behind why jr. high boys are the way they are and why high school girls act the way they do. (This is me talking, it's a scientific fact.) I really enjoy the student ministry classes because I get to talk and think up new ways of doing ministry with fellow youth pastors. I originally made an B- in this class, but the teacher had messed up in the system somehow and corrected my grade to an A. (Where it was all semester) ;-)

Once again, I do not share these grades with you to brag or boast, I only boast in Christ, but to show you that you are to keep me accountable to the purpose that we are here. Thank you for your prayers and gifts! God has been blessing us so much! I will have a summer class break down for you soon!

Diamend and I will be visiting Illinois this weekend so if you are gonna be at church on Sunday look for us!!

Until He Comes

Tony Bianco

Awesome!

1000 Awesome Things created by Neil Pasricha:
You can head over to his blog and read his 1000 Awesome Things! I’m going to begin doing my own list of awesome things. Once a week I will post 1 awesome thing about my/our life/week/day.
If you would like to join me on your own blog – copy the picture and link and post your own awesome thing daily/weekly/randomly! This should be fun!

Celebrating my birthday this week with wonderful friends and thanking God for His blessings!!

Birthday!

Today is my 25th Birthday!! It is only noon and already I feel overwhelmed in blessings via cards, texts, twitter and facebook! Thank you all soo much for loving me!

This year is probably my toughest so far, but I thank God for what He has done and all the He has planned in my future!

Having a June b-day, also means that it is half way through the year. And in doing so I wanted to do a 6 month check up on those resolutions/goals I made to myself at the start of the year, in feeling that year 25 was special!

Resolutions/Goals for 25:
1. Lose weight! (I know everyone says that, but b/c of all my surgeries and not being able to do much - I need to be able to get to my pre-surgery weight)

** I am making progress!! So far I have lost 30lbs and I only have 25lbs to go to my pre-surgeries weight!! :)

2. Become more disciplined with my schedule: fitting in time for quiet time, a work out, hubby and extracurricular reading/knitting.
** I have joined Gold's Gym and have been diligently in going to a class every morning before work! I am constantly working at keeping priorities in check with my time.

3. Learn to become a more patient and loving godly woman and wife.
** I am a work in progress : /

4. Not allow myself to "sweat the small stuff" - I want to be a less-stressed more easy going person.
** Still working on this one ;)

5. Continue striving to get out of debt and stay on top of bills and tuition while living on 1 income :-/
** We have paid off Tony's car (inspite of being in seminary and 1 income) and only have my car left as debt. Continuing to work and pray on this for Him to provide for us!

6. Continue with and improve our blog - making sure that I strive to stay connected with all our friends/family!
** I hope and pray that you have/are enjoying our blog! It has been a delight to keep you all updated and connected!!

7. Go on a vacation! Though we have little money, we really want to be able to take a vacation before we have any kids and reward ourselves from his schoolwork.
** Thanks to our wonderful supportive family we are planning a trip to Disney World over our Thanksgiving break!!!

8. Pray more diligently about our future and beginning a family!
** We pray everyday for our family and our future and trust our Father to carry us through!!


I'm only half-way into my birthday and there is still alot of celebration planned for the day!! I am treating myself to my very first body message this afternoon!! And my wonderful husband has invited all our friends from seminary to a hibachi/sushi restaurant for dinner tonight!! I will post pics later this week!!

Hope you are having a blessed week!
Diamend