It has been a few days since I last posted so I'll check my phone to remember what happened :-)

Oh yes, I went to York on Saturday to visit with my former Youth Pastor and his wife.  I hadn't seen them in over 15 years.  I had not yet downloaded the GPS to my new phone so I printed the directions off of Google Maps.  HUGE MISTAKE.  The directions were wrong & I struggled to find a data signal out in the boondocks.  It took me 2 1/2 hours to find them, but I was determined, and it was worth it.  Then, a thunder-snowstorm came from out of nowhere.  Within a few minutes my car was stuck.  It took 3 men to push me out and get me on the road. 

I called mom (who lives next door)when I left York, and she said that it wasn't snowing at my house.  A little less than an hour later, this is what my house looked like when I pulled in my driveway...

Speaking of mom, it's her birthday.  Happy Birthday Mom!!!!  I love you!

This is what Greta has been up to since my last post...

Balto starts "shy dog" class on Saturday.  Speaking of Balto, he knows he isn't allowed on the furniture...

One of my favorite people in the world, Sarah Westbrook, is moving to Charleston.  Her husband, Cary, got a new job there last Fall and she is moving to be with him.  Thankfully, they aren't selling their Charlotte home so we hope to see them back here before too long.  Tuesday, along with some of my very best friends and 2 other people :-), we celebrated Sarah. 

Also on Tuesday, our church worship team, Elevation Worship, released their new album. Surprisingly, it skyrocketed to #1 on the Christian charts the very first day.  Even more surprisingly, it went to #5 on the overall charts sitting between Mumford & Sons and Fun.  I'm a big Mumford & Sons fan.  Fun (the band)...not so much.  You may recall, my friend Christy and I attended the live recording so it is extra cool to remember hearing the songs and know that we are singing along on the CD.  If you want to hear some good worship music, check out their new CD Nothing is Wasted.  The deluxe edition includes studio versions of all of the songs.  One of the worship leaders was even nice enough to let Scott hang out with him at the recording studio one afternoon while they were recording some of the album. 

If you are interested, I found this youtube version of one of my favorite songs from the CD.  Look for me in the audience.  I'll be more than a little surprised if you can find me. 

OK...I think that catches me up.  I'll try to do better. 

Love Week 2012

I can't believe that another year has passed and it is already Love Week 2012.  Love Week is an initiative that my church takes on to give at least 50,000 hours of community service in our city.  There are over 350 opporutnities to serve this week that include everything from serving in a nursing home, to ministering to sick children and helping the homeless.  Yesterday alone, there were 38 different options to sign up for.  My friend Deanna (you've met her here!) served at Crisis Assistance Ministry with her small group while my group served at a different ministry for those in need.  We cleaned bathrooms, picked up trash and did a little bit of landscaping.

Here are some of the members of my group: 

Even though there were over 38 different options to serve yesterday, we had 46 people at our location. Here are some photos from some of the other projects:  

Love Week is just getting started.  For more information go to www.loveweekcharlotte.com

Habitat House

If you are an avid reader of this blog (and why wouldn't you be?) then you will remember that my church was building a Habitat for Humanity house.  You may recall the picture of my eGroup sweeping dried mud out of the inside of the home.  Well, we finally finished the house and last Saturday, Jamicka and her daughter, Armani, moved in.  Here's a picture from the dedication:

 

Photo by Sean Lyon

#30daysofthanks

We're in the middle of what our church is calling #30daysofthanks.  Every day there is an opportunity or two to serve our city with one of our outreach partners.  Today, along with my eGroup, I served at a Habitat for Humanity house.  Here is a picture that I saw of us on Twitter.  It was taken by Adam Hobbs. 

 Yes, that's my group standing around (minus Jody who was at the Clemson football game).  Here we are cleaning the mud off of the floors in the house:

 

After helping, we went to Mac's Speed Shop for some awesome BBQ!  I think we giggled the whole time.  I love my eGirls so much.  If you'd like to learn more about our outreach initiative check out our Outreach blog: http://elevationoutreach.com/

Jackson Park Ministries

This weekend I was honored to volunteer with my church at Jackson Park Ministries and Hope Cancer Center.  I am always amazed at the generous spirit of the people who attend my church.  Even though we had several volunteer opportunities going on at this time, 87 people chose to spend a beautiful Saturday morning serving others at Jackson Park. 

Jackson Park Ministries provides transformational housing for two parent and single mom families while they learn the life skills to ultimately live independently. The apartments house residents in a twelve to fifteen month “real love” program which heals their lives spiritually while teaching them how to become good employees, effective parents, and wise stewards of their finances.

My eGirls!

At my church we have small groups called eGroups.  There are eGroups of every size, shape & interest that you can think of (almost)!  My eGroup is a "Women's Sermon Discussion" group.  We meet every Tuesday night at the home of our leader, Connie.  Our group is small but we are a very, very close group and enjoy "doing life" together.   Here are my girls.....  My boat is better with you on it! 

 Reid, Sarah, Connie, Linda and of course, Yours Truly!  

Weekend Wrap-Up

Julie had a wonderfully busy weekend!  Yesterday kicked off Love Week 2011 at our church.  This year, they have invited over 25 churches to help us reach our goal of 25,000 hours of community service.  On Saturday, my egroup (small group Bible study) volunteered at a local inner city school.  50 people had signed up but almost 100 people showed up to help out!!!  Here are a couple of pictures of the first project that I worked on....

First, we spread new mulch on their playground.  Then I moved on to working on the landscaping in front of the school.  Next, we went to the library to help the teachers get their test papers ready.  There were so many different projects at this school to choose from.  I had a wonderful day getting to know my new friends better.  Afterwards, we stopped at Bob Evans for lunch.  Or should I say breakfast...(we all ate breakfast items!)

90% of the students at this particular school are on free lunch.  The principal told us that most kids speak English as a second language.  He also said that he has quite a few students that live in their cars.  It was heartbreaking to hear that.  He explained to us that there is no PTA at this school therefore many of the basic things that we were working on yesterday...never get done.

Since today was such a beautiful and warm day (the thermometer said 84)..we decided to take Laura & Daniel to a local elemenatray school to play on the playground...

 And here's Nana teaching Daniel how to hoola hoop:

It was a great weekend.  Now it's time to start a brand new week!