Gold in the Clouds

It's Friday.....yeah!
My oldest daughter is super excited because she leaves at 6 pm with the senior high youth group (or most of them anyways) for Saratoga and the huge Youth for Christ retreat. (Excel) She will return on Monday afternoon. They will have study groups, small groups, workshops, devotions, praise and worship as a large group, teachings as a large group and time for some fellowship. There will be teens there from across the state of NY. Although it is a little pricey, she has earned most of the money for going and we consider it a huge blessing that the head leader from Youth for Christ attends our church and is an active youth group leader there. Thank you Dave L. for your service! Thank you to Keesha, our youth group coordinator at Grace and to Rachael, the senior high youth group coordinator. Thank you to the other young men and women leaders as well. And....thank you Jaime and Brian for your service as well! And...congrats!! Jaime and Brian are getting married on Saturday! And they will continue to be small group (life::group) leaders at GF for the senior high teen girls/guys. Thank you God for these faithful, loving servants!
So.....my oldest will tell you her fave thing from this week was getting ready for this trip and getting her homework done so she could go!

My favorite things were:

This has been my fave Bible this week. Mainly because it is geared for people who are in counseling or mentoring someone. There are topics listed in the back such as "depression", "addictions", "abuse", etc. Then it lists the various places in the Bible that speak on those very topics. Scriptures that aid the person who is in a helping ministry. Although I no longer counsel at the crisis pregnancy center, I am a mentor to a couple of women. I love it! I can turn to this on my own time and refresh my memory or get some new insight to help a friend in need. This is a Bible worth owning if you are in leadership over a small group or act as a peer counselor or teacher/mentor. I am blessed because it was given to me by a very dear friend in Christ who happened to be the director of the inner city crisis center where I worked for 5 years. Although it was a part time volunteer job, I loved it! And she gave these Bibles out to all the people who volunteered there. I have been drawn back to it this week while praying for some good friends. I highly recommend this!

This book for preteens/teens. It is geared towards girls. The devotionals are 2 pages with a mini-anecdote, a verse of the day (we do it weekly) and other Scriptures to go along with the theme for the entry. I have been loving this time my daughters and I have set aside each Thursday evening while Dave is at his life::group with the junior high boys. It is an answer to prayer that I have this time with my daughters AND it was one of our family goals for the new year to have a set evening to study God's Word together. My oldest will often roll her eyes when I get going about God's Love for her but....I know she is getting it and I love hearing her input. I also have been loving my youngest daughter's answers to questions I put before her. And I love how she prays! This has been one of my most fave times this week!

This has been my absolute favorite lunch drink this week. It's a fairly new product from Minute Maid. It is pomegranate lemonade and from the very first sip I was hooked. The taste of pomegranates is prevalent with just a hint of lemons. Yum. And it is pure juice! I like it for lunch over lots of ice or for a late afternoon drink after a work-out on the Wii or my power walking. And since no one else in the family cares for it....it should last me at least a week!

Opening up an account through Facebook has been lots of fun. I opened one about a month ago to keep track of what my 15 year old daughter is up to. We have our accounts set for just friends. My husband set one up as well to connect with the junior high youth group leaders and teens he works with once a week at the church. It seems to be the way most teens communicate now. Well, besides texting on their cells. But for me, the fave thing about it is that I am back in touch with several Christian friends I went to college with at Roberts Wesleyan. What fun to see their family pics, chat with them online, catch up on our careers, husbands/wives, children, etc. It is so much fun! I still prefer blogging but.....facebook IS addictive.....just manage your time if you open an account!

And the last but not least favorite thing from this week has been the power of prayer. Please scroll down to see what the Lord has been doing in my friend Lynn's life........although things looked bleak on Thursday, the Lord provided a clear, direct answer to our prayers and although trials are still being thrown at her, she is still grabbing onto His robe and not letting go......and I love being able to pray for her and seeing how He is gonna use her trials for His Glory.

What about you? What are your fave things from this week?