Dante 
Agape and Me
Agape
Dante Looking Very Happy
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Saturday, October 14, 2006
For Kyle in Milan: About Loveland, Colorado
This section is for you, Kyle!
Pasted from http://x16.xanga.com/c5bb652537d3541861878/b28463580.jpg
About Loveland:
Loveland is located along the Big Thompson River, east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Longs Peak and other mountains of the Front Range are visible from much of the city.
There is a large population of artists in Loveland, which has drawn three foundries, an art museum, and the annual sculpture show in August.
An interesting fact about Loveland is that the city is best known nationwide as the home of the Valentine Re-Mailing Program. Every year hundreds of thousands of Valentines are packaged inside larger envelopes and sent to Loveland, where volunteers hand-stamp them with a Valentine's verse and send them on to the intended recipients.
The west end of Loveland is also 32 miles from Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park. Loveland is populated with sculptures and has a Sculpture Park called Benson Sculpture Park.
Pasted from http://www.ci.loveland.co.us/parksrec/Benson.htm
A map of Loveland...
Pasted from http://www.virtualcities.com/ons/co/city/coloveland.htm
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
What's New With Me
Tonight, I have no deep thoughts to share, but general information about what is happening in my life. I wish I could share something exciting, but my life is pretty boring. My work is always interesting, but I can't talk about work because of confidentiality.
So here is a low down on what my life looks like....
I have my own business with Arbonne International which is a health and wellness company committed to pure, safe, and beneficial products. I am currently a district manager. Basically, I teach people how to shop at a discount for pure, safe, and beneficial products (you wouldn't believe what they put in some cosmetics and personal care products) that fall into 6 categories: anti-aging, color/cosmetics, aromathearpy, nutrition, weight loss, and personal care. I also help people learn how they can start their own business with Arbonne. Their products are amazing and I really love the company.
I am also working as an independent contractor for Larimer County Social Services offering intensive family therapy to their clients. Typically, this involves families who have a child protection issue or a child out of control of parent issue. My main objective is to help transition kids back into the home or to work with families so that their kids don't get placed out of the home in the first place. I usually work in the evenings or late afternoon, as this is the time most clients can meet. I am only working part time, so money is pretty tight.
I am active in my church, which is Timberline Church in Fort Collins. I work with Junior High girls and am a co-leader for a Bible Study. These girls are awesome and we have an amazing group. We are studying a book called, God Called A Girl, by Shannon Kubiak.
I am also participating in a women's Bible study called Five Aspects of Woman. This is an amazing study written by Barbara Mouser. I am enjoying the material and the women in the group.
I have an amazing accountability relationship with my friend, Barb, and we meet every week to talk about life and we are doing a study on Devotional Classics. She and I can talk for hours and she is, as Anne of Green Gables would say, a kindred spirit. God has blessed me with her friendship and wisdom.
Finally, I have an awesome roomie/cousin and 2 amazing cats whom I adore. I can't imagine living without Erin present and life without my precious bubbies would be so sad. I love them to death. I will post some pictures of them soon. I have to get them scanned in though and get some from Erin (she has taken some awesome and adorable pictures of them).
I am blessed with some amazing relationships and a God who loves me despite my brokenness. God wants to have a personal relationship with me and each and every one of you. Isn't that amazing? It blows me away. How often have I sought after lesser gods when I have the Creator of the Universe seeking me out, loving me, and treasuring me. I don't understand myself sometimes, but he still loves me despite my periodic wanderings. WOW! Praise God for his amazing love, mercy, and grace!!!
So here is a low down on what my life looks like....
I have my own business with Arbonne International which is a health and wellness company committed to pure, safe, and beneficial products. I am currently a district manager. Basically, I teach people how to shop at a discount for pure, safe, and beneficial products (you wouldn't believe what they put in some cosmetics and personal care products) that fall into 6 categories: anti-aging, color/cosmetics, aromathearpy, nutrition, weight loss, and personal care. I also help people learn how they can start their own business with Arbonne. Their products are amazing and I really love the company.
I am also working as an independent contractor for Larimer County Social Services offering intensive family therapy to their clients. Typically, this involves families who have a child protection issue or a child out of control of parent issue. My main objective is to help transition kids back into the home or to work with families so that their kids don't get placed out of the home in the first place. I usually work in the evenings or late afternoon, as this is the time most clients can meet. I am only working part time, so money is pretty tight.
I am active in my church, which is Timberline Church in Fort Collins. I work with Junior High girls and am a co-leader for a Bible Study. These girls are awesome and we have an amazing group. We are studying a book called, God Called A Girl, by Shannon Kubiak.
I am also participating in a women's Bible study called Five Aspects of Woman. This is an amazing study written by Barbara Mouser. I am enjoying the material and the women in the group.
I have an amazing accountability relationship with my friend, Barb, and we meet every week to talk about life and we are doing a study on Devotional Classics. She and I can talk for hours and she is, as Anne of Green Gables would say, a kindred spirit. God has blessed me with her friendship and wisdom.
Finally, I have an awesome roomie/cousin and 2 amazing cats whom I adore. I can't imagine living without Erin present and life without my precious bubbies would be so sad. I love them to death. I will post some pictures of them soon. I have to get them scanned in though and get some from Erin (she has taken some awesome and adorable pictures of them).
I am blessed with some amazing relationships and a God who loves me despite my brokenness. God wants to have a personal relationship with me and each and every one of you. Isn't that amazing? It blows me away. How often have I sought after lesser gods when I have the Creator of the Universe seeking me out, loving me, and treasuring me. I don't understand myself sometimes, but he still loves me despite my periodic wanderings. WOW! Praise God for his amazing love, mercy, and grace!!!
Sunday, October 08, 2006
PLEASE PRAY
Please pray for the Jones' Family. They just lost their baby daughter, Payton, after a long battle for her life. Please see their blog at http://aaronandheatherjones.blogspot.com/.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
What Does It Mean to Dream?
I have spent the past 24 hours breathing in my Arbonne business. After being around so many people and having only 5 1/2 hours of sleep, I am surprisingly alert and energetic. During this time, I have been challenged about what my dream is? Typically, dreams are something I think about but don't expect to happen. After watching clips from the movie, Rudy, I think differently. So, I asked the question, what is my dream?
My dream, is what God has placed on my heart. My dream is only partially shaped and is slowly being revealed to me. My dream is what drives me to get closer to God. My dream is what gives me excitement and passion. My dream is for the church to develop and deeper spiritual community. This could take shape in so many ways. It could be through deeper small groups, it could be through having spiritual directors and friends, it could be through individual opening themselves up to be truly seen. No more happy facades, no more my life is all together. No more, people going through painful circumstances and glibly stating, "God has a plan and purpose" while wincing and trying to act like it didn't happen. It means people being real with one another. It means when something painful in my life happens, I can talk about the pain and experience the pain while being surrounded by an incredibly gracious and merciful God and a community of people who hold up His light and support each other in the pain. It means helping people find God in the pain. Again, this isn't teaching them things to say when they hurt that is supposed to make them feel better, but it is teaching them to fall on their knees in front of their Abba and holding tight to him and growing deeper in a relationship with him. In order to experience God more, we need to be modeling what it is like. God created us in his image (imago dei), we are bearers of that image in so many ways. I don't think we realize how every little thing can reflect God's glory or show just how far we have fallen from that glory. This is my dream. No, that's not true. It has become my dream, because it started with God, not me. I am on a journey where there is no clear path and the fear is turning into excitement. God has a purpose for me. He has a task for me to complete. WOW! God wants me to do something for his kingdom. And you know what? He wants each and every one of us to do something for him. None of us is without purpose. We are called by our Creator to shine his light and do his work. How awesome is that!
I am humbled that you would trust me with such a task God. I pray I am like the servants who took their talents and doubled them and that I would not hide your talent in the ground. Guide me, show me where you want me to go. Please do not let me be led astray from the whisperings of the enemy or this world. Amen.
My dream, is what God has placed on my heart. My dream is only partially shaped and is slowly being revealed to me. My dream is what drives me to get closer to God. My dream is what gives me excitement and passion. My dream is for the church to develop and deeper spiritual community. This could take shape in so many ways. It could be through deeper small groups, it could be through having spiritual directors and friends, it could be through individual opening themselves up to be truly seen. No more happy facades, no more my life is all together. No more, people going through painful circumstances and glibly stating, "God has a plan and purpose" while wincing and trying to act like it didn't happen. It means people being real with one another. It means when something painful in my life happens, I can talk about the pain and experience the pain while being surrounded by an incredibly gracious and merciful God and a community of people who hold up His light and support each other in the pain. It means helping people find God in the pain. Again, this isn't teaching them things to say when they hurt that is supposed to make them feel better, but it is teaching them to fall on their knees in front of their Abba and holding tight to him and growing deeper in a relationship with him. In order to experience God more, we need to be modeling what it is like. God created us in his image (imago dei), we are bearers of that image in so many ways. I don't think we realize how every little thing can reflect God's glory or show just how far we have fallen from that glory. This is my dream. No, that's not true. It has become my dream, because it started with God, not me. I am on a journey where there is no clear path and the fear is turning into excitement. God has a purpose for me. He has a task for me to complete. WOW! God wants me to do something for his kingdom. And you know what? He wants each and every one of us to do something for him. None of us is without purpose. We are called by our Creator to shine his light and do his work. How awesome is that!
I am humbled that you would trust me with such a task God. I pray I am like the servants who took their talents and doubled them and that I would not hide your talent in the ground. Guide me, show me where you want me to go. Please do not let me be led astray from the whisperings of the enemy or this world. Amen.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
I Miss You Iwona
I'm feeling incredibly homesick for my friend, Iwona. Here is a picture of she and I at Christmas back in 1998 (I think...). I love you Iwonka and I'm so excited about the little boy on the way!! I hope you get to read my blog.
My Prayer
Lord,
I have so much to do this week and I feel really overwhelmed with the thought of it all. I do not want to lose focus on you, which I know is easy for me to do when I get this busy. I also know, I will procrastinate some things and I will need endurance to get everything done. Please guide me, continue to use me as I work with the clients you have placed in my life, and when I feel frustrated and overwhelmed, I pray I feel your arms wrap around me and hold me. Above all, Your Kingdom come and Your will be done. I pray this through the precious name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
I have so much to do this week and I feel really overwhelmed with the thought of it all. I do not want to lose focus on you, which I know is easy for me to do when I get this busy. I also know, I will procrastinate some things and I will need endurance to get everything done. Please guide me, continue to use me as I work with the clients you have placed in my life, and when I feel frustrated and overwhelmed, I pray I feel your arms wrap around me and hold me. Above all, Your Kingdom come and Your will be done. I pray this through the precious name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)