So, I was surveying my recent stats for my blog and discovered some interesting facts...
In the past two years, Miss Katherine Elizabeth Peschau has sent me over 1000 hits from her blog! She is closely followed by the ever popular Mrs. PJ Herron and then the darling Mrs. Jonathan Cox.
Ladies, thank you! Because of you, I awarded myself the "Most Popular Blog EVer." ;)
well...i know i promised a looooooooong time ago that i'd update this thing. but life just doesn't slow down!! plus facebook takes up a lot of time! ;) but, for all you who still don't have facebook...in case you didn't know...
I'M COURTING! :-D
david fountain and i have been courting for...um...six weeks! we have spent that time trying to get to know each other and determine God's will for our lives and whether that includes marriage (did i just type that?! :). during this time we've gotten lots of coffee, met tons of each other's relatives (poor guy! ;), walked around half of orlando (haha!), and gone on a road trip to georgia (shout out to all my people there ;). it's soooo hard to believe it's been six weeks already!
lots of you don't know who he is yet so i'll give you a quick run down (which i know he's going to love). david is 35 and the second youngest of five kiddos (his twin brother daren is 7 minutes younger than him...apparently this is of GREAT importance to know! ;). he grew up just outside of atlanta and most of his family still live in the same area where they grew up - so cool! david went to lee university and then lived and worked in nashville for about ten years. he moved to orlando four years ago and attended a church in the area until he happened upon metro life church. he ended up in the same singles care group i was in and i apparently was pretty rude to him when he first tried to talk to me... ::sigh:: i thiiiiiiiiiiiiink he's forgiven me. :-D we worked together some on the Yes2Marriage campaign (actually he totally rescued me in helpin' out last minute). and then we started hangin out more and...well...fast forward to february 10 which was our first official date. :)
that's super short and quick - so sorry!! and, for those of you who don't know ME....read my blog. ;)
in these six weeks i have learned soooooooo much about relationships and i think i've put david through quite a bit already. :-D it's been a lot of fun and i told him this past weekend that my weekends just keep getting funner (don't be hatin' the word, i just made it one!). i am so grateful for this opportunity to seek God's will and to be in prayer over something like this with someone like he is. we would appreciate your prayers and are very grateful for your encouragement.
this concludes our update for the moment...
Check it out. Right here. Next is the new name for New Attitude. It just got an extreme makeover: new name, new location, new website, new blog...pretty much everything. Everyone must attend. No excuses.
....oh, and when my blog posts appear on Next, be sure to say hello!
Ok, while on my mini personal retreat, I am reading With One Voice (Alex Chediak). Following chapter 1 which discusses the cultural influences on why/when/how men and women currently marry compared with 100 years ago, Chediak argues the "normalcy" of marriage. After discussing eight different ways that singles usually approach marriage, he says, "...if you are single, you should be giving yourself with particular earnestness to ministry that extends the kingdom of God. You have the freedom to go and come as you please, but you should use it not for yourself, but for others to the glory of God. You are a gift to God's church. Use it well, as one who will have to give an account."
Wow. How often do I see my single years not only as a trial but also to do what I please? Even while doing all of the "good things" and being involved in various church-related activities my vision for how I serve has become increasingly narrow. What about what I am doing is furthering the Gospel? Am I being purposeful in my time as a single? Am I seeking opportunities to serve? Am I evaluating the areas where I currently serve to discern if God would have me continue in them?
I'm not just referring to moving to a far-away country to give your life away: how can we use these days (months and years) for the glory of God? What ways is God calling us to increase both in maturity and wisdom as well as in service to Him, His church and the lost? And if we had to currently give an account to the Lord for our actions...what would He say?
(please feel free to leave your thoughts, comments, suggestions. i'm especially curious to hear thoughts from married ppl on their encouragement as well as other singles and their current experiences, ideas and thoughts.)
I've been tagged by Vanessa Fernandez! Here are the rules: go to your pictures file go to the 5th folder open up the 5th picture and post it; then tag 5 people when you are done.
Shout out (and tag) to: the newest blog i read - Melissa Goins (hey Melissa!! ;); Jaime Herron; Crystal Law; and some boys (will they do it? nah! =) ...Michael Henderson and Jonathan Detwiler.
So here are a few pics from Thanksgiving. (For those of you not on Facebook, get one. =) I have tons of other pics up there - it's just too much trying to keep up both.)
Steph and I drove up on Sunday (we skipped church ::gasp::).
Laffy Kathy gave us a card and a CD for us to listen to which made the last few hours go by really fast...until we had to turn the music off driving up the super-scary mountains. :-D
We girls all went out to lunch yesterday and then to a movie. Sooooooo fun!it is 12:30pm and i am hungry. i am hungry because i wanted to fast and pray for the persecuted church today. it has only been a few short hours since i've eaten, really, and i am so distracted. i thought i would remind myself of what i've heard their life is like vs. mine.
...they endure mocking for their faith. i work at a church.
...they endure beatings for their faith. i never do.
...they worship in secret. i worship with hundreds of other believers.
...they live every day as if it could be their last. i live every day fighting worry over what my future holds.
...they go hungry in prison. i eat whenever i want.
...they are sent to prison for speaking the name of Jesus. i sometimes feel embarrassed about praying in public before i eat.
oh, that i would have their perspective! God, make me more like them - they truly look like Your Son. stop my tongue from complaining over trivial matters. give me endurance to run the race. and God, please give them courage, faith, assurance of Your love, peace and joy in the midst of their trials. help them to endure the unimaginable to which You have called them. but free them from prisons, save their captors, build up Your church! i look forward to That Day when all the waiting armies in heaven are given the word to go forth and fight the enemy. hasten the day, Lord!!
for all of you who are wearing your "pray for china" bracelets, i was at disney a few weeks ago and a young girl from china was working at one of the rides where i asked a question. she saw my bracelet, read the chinese writings and asked me what that was for. when i explained it to her, she thanked me. she thanked me!
okay, back to work...i'm not so hungry anymore...
Hey friends!
We're on the home stretch! Polls are saying we’re at 57% or 59% which means we’re close but it could STILL go either way!!
I was on a conference call tonight with John Stemberger, Nathan Dunn and others around the state. I came away with a few projects that I need your help on. Here goes:
- We just found out that Sarah Palin will be at Fantasy of Flight in Lakeland on Saturday, November 1st!! The doors open at 9am but people will be in line as early as 7am. We’re asking for volunteers to be there that early if possible (or whenever you can be there) and pass out fliers to the (tens of?) thousands who are expected to turn out!! The volunteers are then welcome to stay for the program (print out free tickets to get in at: Florida.JohnMcCain.com). Volunteers are free to leave whenever but we will also be passing signs out at the end of the event. Let me know if you plan to attend! Please note: The event – if you choose to stay – may end around 1…ish. J Bring coolers and water bottles, dress weather-appropriate and wear comfy shoes.
- On Sunday afternoon supporters all over Orange and Seminole counties will be participating in the “Yes2Marriage Caravan.” The purpose is to travel to several different locations, picking up cars and people from each, and end at Metro Life Church with a press conference! This will be HUGE for the campaign. We’ll start at Metro (leaving around 2pm) and head to Eastland Baptist Church, then to First Baptist of Orlando, then to First Baptist Church of Central Florida and end up back at Metro with news coverage (around 5pm)!! (See the route here.) If you’d like to participate, let me know. And don’t forget to decorate your car!! We would love for all the vehicles to look as if the driver(s) just got married with streamers and phrases written on the windows (Yes2Marriage!, Just Voted, One Man & One Woman, etc) and decked out with Yes2Marriage signs. See you Sunday!
- Last, we are putting together a list of the eight precincts in Seminole and Orange County with the largest turnout history for us to target on Election Day. Our goal would be for Metro to take two precincts each and cover them with sign wavers for the entire day. If you’d like to sign up for a two-hour slot at a precinct with high turnout, please let me know!!
Also, don’t forget that you’re invited to First Baptist Church of Central Florida (NOT First Baptist of Orlando) for the statewide Watch Party on Tuesday night, November 4th.
Finally…pray! Let’s be in prayer for everyone and this whole issue!
Standing with you,
Jennifer Lightfoot
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are now only seven days away from the end of Election Day. This time next week Florida will be a different state. What will this look like? Only the Lord knows right now.
But what we do know is that we can help. We can do our part! We can get the word out about this amendment!! We can NOT allow for "constitution smuggling" as Benny Phillips so aptly put it on Sunday morning! What has been foundational since the beginning of time, instituted by God as a picture of His relationship with the church, is not to be tampered with or allowed to crumble at the mercy of society's fickle dictation.
Like me, getting involved seemed overwhelming...more so, I'm sure, to any moms who are reading this! But even if it's prayer, that is huge. The gay activists are pulling all the stops! Your prayers are so needed!!! And, if you have a few minutes, could you make phone calls to friends to recruit them? If you have an hour, could you make calls through the phone bank? If you have a few hours, could you wave a sign at an intersection with your kiddos or make a delivery for supplies? If you are able to vote early, could you wave a sign at your precinct on Election Day?
There are many ways to help out!!! I would love to hear from you if the Lord lays it on your heart to get involved (I know you're all involved in so many things already and I greatly respect you for what you're doing!!!).
I remember waving Pro-Life signs on the side of I-4 when I was 10...what a powerful picture to see families at intersections or polls and waving "Yes2Marriage" signs!!!! Let's fight together...and for some reason I now feel like singing. =)
Wow. Take just a couple minutes to read this short article entitled "What Harm Would 'Same Sex' Marriage Do?". Takes it to a whole new level, doesn't it??
We still desperately need help getting the word out. Please let me know if you'd like to get involved!
Well, for those of you I haven't forced to listen to a rundown of my day last Friday, read on! =) I was able to help out with a breakfast John Stemberger hosted for Central Florida pastors regarding the upcoming marriage amendment. It was soooooo amazing and I learned SO much! I took lots of notes but there's no way to communicate everything that was shared in the four plus hours of presentations! (I hope to soon post some of the things I've learned, though.)
As Danny reminded us Sunday, there is very little time left before the state will vote on Amendment 2...25 days to be exact! This is not a cultural "issue" but a challenge to God's direct mandate for marriage to be between a man and a woman. Yes2Marriage needs your help to communicate this - to get the word out and inform the voters of the opportunity we have on November 4th to fight something God hates (not the people - the sin!) and protect what He loves (the sinner - not the sin!).
Metro Life Church will be hosting a phone bank every weeknight from 6-9pm and on Saturdays from 10am-1pm. A phone bank is where you call people from a list and leave a short message on their voicemail or have a simple and short conversation with the person who answers. It's not difficult, everything is spelled out for you and basic training will be given when you arrive. And you can come as often as you can or just once if that's all you're able to do. I hope to be there often and would love to make history happen with all of you (think about it - what would the future of Florida look like with gay marriages? How will this affect your family? Do you know? I didn't. More on that to come =).
If you're closer to First Baptist of Orlando, they have a super-cool system set up so you'll have to tell me what it's like. =) If you're in our area and you'd like to help, leave a comment here or email me at jenniferlightfoot@gmail.com. If you are outside of our area, click here to find out how you can get involved in your community or county - I don't think we realize how desperately these individuals who are leading this cause appreciate our time.
Believe it or not, there are people who don't know about this amendment! Florida is the only state that requires 60% to pass and polls are showing we're about 50-something%...Your call could make or break it!
Below are some pictures from Friday...
It's true...
At the end of the morning, the group gathered around John & Olivia and prayed for them (see Danny on the far left? =).
And then...the press conference. =) Oh yes. I was so excited. It was a real live press conference with the mics on the podium and everything. TWO stations, four media people (all with their little notebooks taking notes =) and a whole lotta me taking pictures.
But...not what you're thinking. :) Check this out from Generation Letter...
Dear Friends of Generation Letter,
Jesus My Glory has been chosen to compete in the 2008 Indie Singer Songwriter Competition and we would really appreciate your vote.
Please visit http://songcontest.issa-music.org/index.html and take a moment to register to vote. You will receive confirmation of your registration and a special link where you can login in and place your vote. We are located on the lower left hand side of the voting page.
The whole process takes about 45 seconds. We truly appreciate all of your help as God continues to take our music to the streets!
God Bless you,
George Alex Joey Stephen John Jake
Generation Letter
This is amazing. My mom sent this out to the fam and I just had to post it. If you read nothing else today, except for Scripture of course =), read this.
“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” Romans 6:6
CHRISTIAN, what have you to do with sin? Has it not cost you enough already? Burnt child, will you play with the fire? What? After having already been caught in the jaws of the lion, you still want to walk into his den again? Haven’t you had enough of the old serpent? Didn’t he poison all your veins once, and will you play upon the hole of the asp, and put your hand upon the serpent’s den a second time?
Oh, don’t be so foolish! So unconscious! Did sin ever provide you with real pleasure? Did you find solid satisfaction in it? If so, go back to your old drudgery and wear the chain again, if that’s what pleases you.
But inasmuch as sin never gave you what it promised to give you, but deluded you with lies, don’t be snared a second time by the old fowler; be FREE and let the remembrance of your ancient bondage forbid you to enter the net again. It is contrary to the designs of eternal love, which all have an eye to your purity and holiness; therefore, don’t run opposite to the purposes of your Lord.
Another thought should restrain you from sin. Christians can never sin cheaply. They pay a heavy price for iniquity. Transgression destroys peace of mind, obscures fellowship with Jesus, hinders prayer, brings darkness over the soul; therefore, don’t be the serf and bondservant of sin.
There is yet a higher argument: each time you became a slave to sin, you are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace. Can you bear that thought?
Oh! If you have fallen into any special sin during this day, it may be my Master has sent this admonition this evening, to bring you back before you backslide very far. Turn to Jesus anew; He has not forgotten His love to you! His grace is still the same! With weeping and repentance, come to His footstool, and you shall be once more received into His heart; you shall be set upon a rock again, and your goings shall be established.
Charles Spurgeon
Morning & Evening
Well, today Joey and Lauren get married! I did my first engagement shoot of them. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out so well with bad lighting, rain, dumb photographer, etc. But it was fun. My cute assistant, Kathy, was super helpful. ;)
Here are a few of the pics...
Congratulations, you two! It's been fun documenting some of these last few weeks for you! :)
I will be spending some spare time here, at the Biblical Study Group blog. Recently, a study was just finished on prayer (the first post here, with a link to the Spurgeon article) and before that, on the holiness of God. We are beginning a study on the book of Ephesians on Monday if you want to follow along!!
Oh yes, thank you to all of you for your amazingly kind and precious comments. We are so overwhelmed by the number of people who have been praying for us as a family and for Joshua's salvation in particular. We had no idea! And still you continue to let us know how affected you are by his testimony, remembering words you've had and shared with us or him, etc. Our family just cannot comprehend it all and we are so blessed. I know Joshua appreciates your continued prayers as he begins the Christian life. What a blessing our church family has been to us all! We love you!
Well, I couldn't help it! I had to post and let you all know that the brother we've been praying for for years has finally been rescued! Yes, Joshua gave his life to Christ on Saturday night while we were away at Celebration. The story is a long one and amazing. He has already begun making some awesome lifestyle changes. We are so thrilled and just often times speechless at the changes. One of the things he texted my mom on Saturday was that he was overwhelmed by the fact that with everything Christ was still fighting for him. Wow. What an answer to prayer!!!
He joined us at Celebration Sunday night and Monday morning and already he was like a different person!
Tonight we had some friends over to celebrate what God has done and had a time of worship. I look forward to many more evenings of our WHOLE family being together and worshiping our Lord - and then ALL ETERNITY!!!! Wow.
Joshua and Neil-buddy
The Awesome Kyle Davis (except not when he's mean and messes my hair up!)
The guys...
Stephen Morgan - who also has an amazing story!!! I love this kid!
Brittany Jarvis (aka Gorgeous, and "Stephen's girl")
Heather or "lil bit" 
More of "the guys"
What a great night!!!!
ONE WORLD. ONE DREAM. The theme of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I just finished watching last night's opening ceremony which cost $300 million – 10% more than the opening ceremony in Atlanta. I found this horribly sad when most of the 1.3 billion Chinese barely eke out a survival on $2 a day. That amount could have supported 86% of the population for a day...or supported almost 2 million people for a year. That's pretty staggering!
All that is to say, the ceremony was incredible. I watched most of it with my jaw hanging. The precision, timing, sheer numbers of cast...it amazed me and fascinated me. There were no markings on the stage/floor. Each member knew exactly where to go and when during their performance - each one lasting probably 8-10 minutes. Great attention was given to minute details. The part of me that loves performing wanted to know all the little details - backstage and front. :o) And every single performer seemed to have their own in-ears! I don't even want to think about that. Makes me sick. :o) So, here are a few stats, along with a brief overview, that I picked up during the evening:
2008 drummers opened the show pounding away perfectly synchronized ancient drums. The drums lit up forming gigantic numbers to countdown to the beginning of the ceremony – in both Chinese characters and Roman numerals. How many countless hours were they required to work each day to reach this amazing performance???
Throughout the ceremony, there were different "scenes" portraying both Chinese history and modern culture. There were many forms of "opposites" displayed, popular in Chinese art such as light and dark, loud and soft, etc.
The first scene, a giant scroll was rolled back over one of the world's largest LED screens while dancers performed with modern expression one of the most ancient style of painting: using their bodies as brushes. The canvas was massive and at the end of the scene was lifted off the ground and suspended from the air. It would later be used during the Parade of the Nations...
One of the most amazing scenes that totally blew my mind was a literal sea of boxes that moved up and down in the floor to create wind (Confucius said the virtuous leader can pass across his subjects with the ease of the wind). Up and down the boxes moved giving the idea of water drops on a pond, creating the symbol for "harmony" and other amazing movements. At the end, a Chinese man popped out of each box - no machines, no computers! You would have to see it to believe it...although I did and I still don't. It's ridiculous how incredible that was...
Aside from the massive amounts of seating (91,000 people), the gi-normous LED screen on the floor of the stadium, there was a scrim that ran the length of the "Bird's Nest." It was a quarter of a mile in length and throughout the evening, images were displayed all around the rim of the stadium on these screens - like massive movie theatres! The Bird's Nest took 50 some months to build. I wonder what all the people who are now out of a job are doing? Now that the Olympic Kingdom is built...but I digress...
Moving into the modern scene, Lang Lang a 26 year old pop-pianist was accompanied by Li Musi a 7 year old who had been playing for a year. Surrounding the two at the white grand were another 2008 performers dressed in neon green. About seven days earlier, the director of the ceremony did not like their costumes which were, at the time, black. He ordered new costumes... a week before the show for 2008 performers!...and three days later they were ready.
The Chinese invented the kite (Beijing means City of Kites) and in one of the next scenes, 9 year old Xiu Chiao Yung flew high above the crowd's head. She was beautiful.
Next, 2008 new performers (none of the 15,000 performers were EVER repeats - imagine directing and rehearsing, costuming and communicating...wow!) surrounded a group of school children to contrast the current global warming and the effects and burden it will have on the next generation. 2008 men doing Tai Chi with exact precision, running in rows backwards and forwards...the choreography was ridiculously incredible.
One of the most amazing, and one that made me cry, was when the Chinese "astronauts" began floating in the air as a globe emerge from the floor. All around the globe were dancers who began to run, walking, leap, flip...but sideways, and upside down! Eight months of training were needed for them to be able to do this! Atop the globe was a pop singer in China and Sarah Brightman - they sang "You and Me." During the song, thousands more performers surrounded the globe and all at once lifted umbrellas with a picture of a different child's face on each one - so precious (that's the part that I cried at - I know, I know. :o)...
On to the Parade of Nations...I think this is a fascinating portion and I watched almost all of the nations march through. Part of me just couldn't help wondering if I would stand beside them before the Throne, along with every tribe and tongue. Some of the nations have one athlete and some have upwards of 400 athletes. Watching Cuba walk was very interesting...
Eighty-seven of the 204 nations participating have never had a medal winner of ANY kind. Can you imagine? Some of these poor, small countries (whose population was not even as great as the number of people gathered in the STADIUM) continue to participate year after year...I know my mom wants to give everyone a medal, right? :o)
Finally, the torch. One of the Chinese medal-winners (the last of eight torch-bearers) was hoisted into the air and "ran" the length of the scrim! Pretty unbelievable. When he reached the starting point, he lit the torch. Ridiculously amazing fireworks went off and it was altogether an incredible torch-lighting. Yes, it was really good.
Off to an amazing start...now I just have to catch up on the games. Still, my heart breaks for this people as we are all watching the clash of politics and pride and their intense efforts to gain the approval and place of leadership with the rest of the world. To what cost? Time will tell...for now, we are praying!
Tonight it begins. The 2008 Olympics begin in Beijing, China. The eye of the world is upon this nation and will be watching it closely...carefully. And China knows this. For quite some time they have been preparing - and not just their athletes. They have been whitewashing, cleaning and constructing all for the sake of impressing the world (Matthew 23:25-28). But in the midst of this, our Christian brothers and sisters have suffered and most likely will continue as China seeks to shut down many churches, their leaders and members.
And so it is our privilege to intercede for them. I encourage you to watch the Olympics with a prayerful heart. Pray that the real triumph for China is not their coveted gold medals to display in a glass case but SOULS SAVED! What a privilege it will be to stand in heaven alongside the individuals we pray for! Individuals who may be beaten for their faith, taunted for their beliefs and killed for the One they serve. On that day I want to thank each one!!!
Matthew 5:43: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Matthew 5:10-12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
If you haven't seen this already, you can order a very inexpensive reminder here.
I've also been checking these other blogs out; I've linked them on my "Faves" list, too, in case you want to keep up-to-date as well. And, lest you think this is all I do...it is not. :o) I check only when there are new posts. Whew! I could see the comments and accountability a-comin'! Haha!
Cute new baby updates
A friend with a new blog
An amazing family whose posts crack me up
A great mommy
My fave SGM photographer
A good friend -love ya, chick! ;o)
Another good friend - I miss you!!
I love finding friend's blogs!
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