Resurection Dance Budapest - How we should all celebrate!

Makes me want to get up and dance now!!

Peace Out,

~*~*~Krystal~*~*~

I am not a perfect person.

I know that's a shocker. But I am not a perfect person. I will never be a perfect person. It's really easy on a blog to hide who you are. A person could create a completely different alter ego. They could take on any persona they so desired. They could magnify their achievements in life and rarely, if ever, mention their faults or failures.

I am not one of those people.
I refuse to wear a mask.
I may not share everything, but I always post the truth.

I have been greatly blessed with several women in my life to help me along the way. Most of them are older than me and have been where I am. My closest three girlfriends, in whom I confide all, say I'm going through a season. I'm in my late thirties, I have a husband, a brood of children, a farm to run. I'm going back to college (knees shaking here), I've been researching opening a little store of my own, and I'm in therapy to get over being claustophic in hopes of one day being able to enter the prayer room at church without running out hyperventilating with my heart pounding in my chest in hysterical tears.

WHEW!

Why am I telling you all of this? Because I'm being Baptized today at church. I was Baptized when I was about ten, but I didn't fully understand it. For years I've been wanting to do this and few months ago I knew it was time. THIS church. THIS minister. I am not perfect and do not present myself that way. I will never be made perfect until I am called home or until Christ comes again. If I were capable of perfection on my own, I wouldn't need Christ to begin with.

I'm not going to get all pretentious and start pretending to be someone I'm not. I will never wear a mask again. It's too difficult to remember which to wear for whom for one thing, and for another, when you're so busy hiding the truth from others, you tend to hide it from yourself as well. I'm just a human on this road for a while. I will go through many seasons and many changes, there will be many victories and many failures. But through it all, good example or bad, I am a Christian, and I have faith that He is with me each step of the way.

For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. II Tim. 1:2

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in [me] will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:5-7


Peace Out,

~*~*~Krystal~*~*~

Saying Good-bye

I'm going to a funeral today. It starts in 1 1 /2 hours. The man went to our church. He was more than an acquaintence, but less than a personal friend. I'm not sure how to classify people like that. He was involved in a one car accident a little after midnight Saturday. He lost control of his car and died instantly. His wife is now left alone to raise their five children. Two of them are in class with my eldest son.

Please remember them. They'll have a lot of support...for a while. We've all been there in one sense or another, a major issue goes on in our life and at first everyone is there to help, but as time marches on, people get invovled in their own lives and move on as well.

So in a few months from now, should this family come to your memory, pray for them.

My Husband Left Today

We got to spend three weeks together, for that I am very grateful, but still, he's gone now. So this is my prayer.

YOU ARE STILL HOLY
Kim Hill

Holy, You are still holy
Even when the darkness surrounds my life
Sovereign, You are still sovereign
Even when confusion has blinded my eyes

Lord, I don't deserve Your kind affection
When my unbelief has kept me from Your touch
I want my life to be a pure reflection
Of Your love

And so I come into Your chamber
And I dance at Your feet, Lord
You are my Saviour
And I'm at Your mercy
All that has been in my life
Up 'til now
It belongs to You
You are still holy

Holy, You are still holy
Even though I don't understand Your ways
Sovereign, You will be sovereign
Even when my circumstances don't change

Lord, I don't deserve your tender patience
When my unbelief has kept me from Your truth
I want my life to be a sweet devotion
To You

And so I come into Your chamber
And I dance at Your feet, Lord
You are my Saviour
And I'm at Your mercy
All that has been in my life
Up 'til now
It belongs to You
I belong to You

And so I come into Your chamber
And I dance at Your feet
You are my Saviour
And I'm at Your mercy
All that has been in my life
Up 'til now
It belongs to You
I belong to You
You are still holy
You are still sovereign
You are still holy, Lord
You are still righteous
You are all-knowing
You are still holy

Just to catch everyone up...

Bear arrived Friday at noon. It's been non-stop ever since! The airport is 2 1/2 hours away, so we got back to town to pick up the kids from school. We finished packing the eldest and dropped of his luggage at 5:15. Then it was off to Family Fun Night at the local pizza game place. Home at 8:30, bed at 9:00 (I finally got some...YEAH).

Up early Saturday to head on over to the church to start set up for Tater Day Monday. Left at 12:45, picked up our eldest from the house and dropped him off at the school at 1:45 to leave for the trip. Bear and I spent a little over an hour walking up and down the streets enjoying Bear's first Tater Day (AKA Redneck Mardis Gras). Bear was somewhat shocked that people like this exist in real life and not just on sitcoms.

Back to the house at 4:00 to start cooking for BATMAN and DAWN and their family. I made homemade baked beans, fried chicken (LOTS of fried chicken), mashed potatoes, gravy and corn bread. They called at 5:00, the main road to the house was flooded so I went to pick them up and bring 'em on over via the backroads. I made sure to wear my cowboy hat with the feather in it. We had a great time! Can't wait to see them again. Dawn is really sweet and I wish that we didn't live an hour apart.

OH! Batman FINALLY asked the BIG question! Wedding in July...! :)

This morning was church and then off to the fair grounds for rides gallore. I'm having to accept my age as I nearly blew chunk. Guess my stomach isn't what is use to be (either that or it was the Zebra Cake after the Doritos, after the mashed potatoes, after the hot dog, after the cold fried chicken leg after the first Zebra Cake all of which I ate before we left...I missed breakfast...I was STARVING). The kids won several stuffed animals, a goldfish, and a rabbit. The official animal count at our little ol' farm is as follows:

3 dogs
3 cats (one's pregnant)
3 goats
15 grown chickens
29 chicks
13 ducklings
a hamster
a rabbit
and a goldfish

WHEW!!!

We just got home about thirty minutes ago. I'm going to finish up here what I need to do for the parade tomorrow. We have to be at the church at 8:00 in the morning and will be there until 2:00. Bear flies out Tuesday, we leave for the airport at 3:00.

I'm so grateful that it's Spring Break! I'm going to spend Wednesday in bed...ALL DAY LONG! I think I'll deserve it.

Hate Crime

Some person/people took spray paint to my church. They also burned a Bible on the church steps.

Thing about it is that our church is known as the friendliest church around. We are not judgemental. We believe in Grace. We have one the most active youth groups. We let the skateboarders skate in our parking lot. We don't preach to them or the Goths. We smile at them and ask them about their day. We show them the attention few of them get at home. They bring their younger siblings to play in on our playground. When they're thristy, they go in to drink. We joke with them and laugh with them. They tell us their struggles because no one else will listen.

We have an active jail ministry. We help feed their families. We minister to their needs, whatever they may be. One of our praise and worship leaders is completely covered with tatoos (he even has horns tatted on his head...LOL!). He frequently wears this shirt that says "God loves me tatoos and all!" They just had their second child.

We love everyone.

That is not what *I* say about my church. That is what OTHERS say about my church. Even those who want nothing to do with church itself says that we are totally non-judgement but fully loving people.

So it hurts even more to have found out about the Bible someone burned on our church steps.

It's precicely because of the words in that Bible they burned that we love people the way we do.

But the good thing about it is that instead of being angry (although there is hurt), we pray for the person/people who did it.

Because that is who we are in Christ.

End of sermon.

Amen.