Baptism in the River

This has been a very busy weekend, which is an answer to prayer, because earlier I was struggling with my decision to postpone my trip to Illinois. Yesterday was our Women's Conference at Oak Hills, and I'm really glad I didn't miss it. We had a fabulous speaker who also happens to be a member of our church. She has an incredible story where she was kidnapped by a mass murderer and lived to tell about it. In fact, he ended up praying with her and giving himself up. He was put to death later, but not before his decision to follow Christ impacted thousands of people. What a miracle...God's leading was so very evident as she told this incredible story!

Just a couple of hours ago, Larry and I were "re" baptised together in the Guadalupe River here in San Antonio. Although we had been baptized years ago, we decided that this symbolized a new start for us in our walk with Christ. It was an incredible experience that we were able to share together.

Dealing with change...

There have been so many changes in my life since we left Illinois just four months ago...I am thankful for all God has done in my life in that time...but tonight I'm feeling kind of sad, because tomorrow was the day I had planned to fly to Illinois to visit family and friends. When I made the flight arrangements I wasn't working so the timing didn't really matter, but when I took the job at Encino Park everything changed. There's no way I could miss seven days of school without losing all that I've done so far. I love my job and all the kids, but I'm struggling with not seeing my own girls and Lydia until Christmas (Actually, Stacey is coming for Thanksgiving so I have that to look forward to). Lydia is changing so much at this stage, and I feel like I'm missing it. I think of how much worse it would have been in the "Little House in the Prairie" days, when leaving meant never seeing your family again. Today, thanks to the computer age we live in, I at least get to keep up with changes on a daily basis. You can see my precious Lydia on Shannon's blog at www.thenordgrens.blogspot.com

Busy Week

This is a picture of the inner courtyard at Oak Hills, where I went on Wednesday evening to pick up a copy of Max's new book. Then I headed over to Community Bible Church where they had a "Revival" going on. My neighbor invited us since it's a really big event in San Antonio. Our next door neighbor was the evangelist who was preaching, and although I had met his wife, I had not yet met him. It was a wonderful message and a LOT of people went forward to pray! Before I left that night, I was able to talk to him for a few minutes and he gave me his book which I already read and it was wonderful...very similiar to Larry's testimony!

We've been so busy every weekend, that we haven't even begun to explore all San Antonio has to offer. We did go down to the Riverwalk once when Joan was visiting, but we haven't had time to go back there and see it or the Alamo yet. I've made a list of all the things I want to do, but the weekends go so fast we just don't have time! One place we did go was to the little town of Boerne, which is where this picture was taken. The day we visited there was a festival going on, but the town has a lot to offer on it's own, too. It's full of antique shops and cute resaurants, and it's definately a place we'll want to visit again.

Ahhh...Sunday!

The best part of my week is always Sunday! Last Wednesday Evening, Max announced his plans to release his newest book, "3:16". It was awesome to hear how God is working to bring a book like this into the world. By the world, I mean that even stores like Walmart and Hallmark are some of his biggest backers. Anyway, tonight we had Joni Eareckson Tada for a special program she is kicking off in San Antonio. I read her book way back in 1976, when I was a brand new Christian and it impacted me so much because of her committment after all she had been through. Getting to meet her tonight was a real blessing...she's a special lady!

Then later we went out for dinner with friends from our Life Group. We went to an Indian Restaurant, where I found out that Indian food is not my favorite! Oh well, the fellowship was wonderful and the time we spend with people is more important than the food!

Finished!

Well, it seems like forever since we started our remodeling projects, but we are finally finished! I posted pictures of the kitchen and downstairs a couple of weeks ago, but now I also have pictures of our "new" Master Bedroom and Bath! I included the first picture of the "tear down" to show the contrast of before and after. It finally feels like HOME!