Summer Days

The lazy days of summer have arrived. For the past few weeks, my days have been filled with pool parties, sipping lemonade, movie watching, balmy nights, and baseball. The best part of summer is lounging lazy nights away with good friends and not having to worry about rushing anywhere in the morning. June has shown itself to be the calm before the storm. July promises to be a busy month; lots of fundraising, spending time with Driven- my church's youth group, and performances with Awaken. Therefore, I've decided to be a little more disciplined, with updating this blog, working on pictures, and implementing that little nugget of wisdom from good ole' Charles Dickens,"Early to bed, early to rise...." Hopefully, by the time camp gets here I will be used to rising at 7 am!
Since I'm not working right now, I have several little goals I want to accomplish this summer. First priority is raising money for The Call in August. Yikes! that's alot of money. But, I am so excited, I hope it will come in quickly. Secondly, I am planning to repaint and decorate my room. This project has been in the works for years, but hopefully it will be finished before August. I've come across so many blogs and articles with cute ideas, it just puts me in the state of mind to spiffy up my current dwellings. And lastly, I went to a book sale last weekend and bought 14! books. So, a reading list is being compiled and chopped away at. So many titles have presented themselves to me, all of them interesting and different; from classics to Christianity to economics.

Peace and blessings to you.

Sun, Salt, and Stages

This weekend was Fiesta del Concho, an annual celebration on the River filled with tasty food, laughing children, and farm animals galore. This year, Awaken and Nameless Faceless were asked back to perform, while John gave his first "Cowboy Church" sermon that morning. John spoke about having a 'Life Worth Living' and writing meaningful chapters with the time you are given; living a full life, one that makes sense in eternity. Such deep contemplations on such a beautiful morning!



The air was electric with joy and excitement during the performances. Watching so many people worship, stop and gander, or simply sitting back and relaxing to the lovely sounds of praise reminded me of how God speaks in so many different ways. The chords being strummed and plucked on stage helped to stir the hearts and minds of all those around us. The energy during the dramas and dances was simply amazing. In my time in Awaken and even before I got onboard, I have never felt so much excitement from a crowd! The cheers, claps, and whistles were in ample supply on this sizzling West Texas summer day, spurring us on through every drumbeat and note being sung.

What a privilege to be used by God in such powerful ways, all while getting to do what we love. God is so good.

Peace to you and yours.

Pomp and Circumstance

The San Angelo Christian Homeschool Association Graduation ceremony was a couple Saturdays ago and this was the first year that I have known all the graduates pretty well. If you haven't noticed, my camera is pretty much attached to my hand these days, so here are some pictures!

Arielle and Logan did the worship music at the beginning of the ceremony.

Some of us at the reception.

And finally, Cricket, one of the happy graduates!!

Yay! Congratulations Class of 2008!
-E