Outdoor Service

We ended a great weekend with our churches first outdoor service. It was so neat to worship the Lord outside. It was good for people who were at the festival to hear the gospel proclaimed as they walked by. We really enjoyed worshipping in God's creation!


The praise team

It was a great family service..the children sang and played bells

one of the sweetest ladies I know and her little girl

Farmington Founders Festival

Wow...what a day we had at the Founders Festival today. We stared out at the church bright and early. We entered a float in the parade again this year. The theme was "circus, circus", which is kinda a hard theme for a church...but Jeff did a great job putting it all together. The kids were dressed as "circus" animals and the slogans for our float were "Is Jesus just your sideshow or the main event?" and "Don't mess around with your eternity...Jesus didn't". We passed out gospel tracks, and invitations to kids kamp, which is in two weeks. We pray that the gospel tracks fell into the hands of the right people and were excited with how receptive the people were.

Meanwhile, back at the church, we had people passing out free water & balloons, faithful prayer warriors praying, men parking cars in our free parking lot, and new this year: the bounce house! We rented a bounce house..which worked out wonderfully! The kids loved it...and it gave us a chance to talk to the families during the few minutes that the kids were bouncing. Finally, Seth and I were on an evangelism team. (Hannah took a nap in Seth's office...while one of the teens listened for her on the monitor...it worked out perfectly!) We went out into the festival in the afternoon with tracks in hand ready to share the gospel. I had the opportunity to talk to 3 teen girls. It worked out really well because they were all friend and one of them is already a believer who attends a good Bible believing church. I had a chance to clearly present the gospel to one of the girls, then another friend joined us, so I got to present it again. They were not ready to make a decision today, so I challenged the one who is already a believer to follow up with her friends. Would you please pray for the 3 of them? Erin and Karley are the ones who still are not saved...and Angela is their christian friend. Seth had a chance to talk to a man who is jewish & probably in his early 20's. He was sitting and waiting for his mom who came out of Quinos shortly after we began our conversation. She was VERY closed to the idea of even talking to us...but he still wanted to...so that was encouraging. She listened for a while, then walked away. He carefully listened, but then said that he need to leave to go be with his mom. Seth was able to share the gospel with him, and we are praying that the Lord will really work in his heart. Pray for him...his name is Emmet.

After watching just 2 of the "Way of the Master" (check out this link for some tips on sharing your faith and some witnessing videos) video series...I have been extremely convicted about sharing my faith. There was a quote from Spurgeon (I think) on the video that said something like this: If we don't care about the salvation of others, then we are probably not even saved ourselves. I need to be concerned about others eternity!! Walking around the festival today...I looked into the eyes of so many and couldn't help but think of the old Steve Green song "People Need the Lord". There are so many who are lost...who will tell them the truth if we don't? What a huge responsibility Jesus left us with when he returned to heaven. I want to be more gospel minded...I will be praying for an looking for more opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those I meet.

How about you? Are you actively sharing your faith? What have you found has worked for you? Do you have any good conversation starters? Is there anyone that you have talked to that you would like me to be praying for? I would love to hear from you!

When we preach Christ crucified, we have no reason to stammer, or stutter, or hesitate, or apologize; there is nothing in the gospel of which we have any cause to be ashamed." (C.H. Spurgeon)

Romans 10:9-15
9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."[e] 12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."[f]
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"[g]

Some of the animals on the float

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Hannah & Elania...not looking super excited...

our cute little dancing bear

The teens....love 'em!

This guy rode his unicycle the whole parade! And my little giraffe...eating her favorite giraffe snack :)

the bounce house

the guys did a great job directing traffic

passing out balloons and water

Tuesday is Park Day & a Surprise for Jennifer!

Tuesday is park day...this week we were at Rotary Park in Livonia. We have never been to this park...but today we ended up there twice! Our mops group was there in the morning. Hannah had fun playing with all of her mops friends...but she sure loves Joshua. She was asking for him on Monday afternoon...so it was a good thing that Tuesday was coming. They had fun on the swings, the bouncy elephants, and playing in the water fountain. To see more pictures, you can go to Joshua's blog here.

After dinner, we headed back to Rotary park to surprise Jennifer for her 27th birthday! She had no idea that the surprise was coming. :)

Happy Birthday Jennifer!!

Parmesan Baked Chicken

Per request of one of my readers: here's the recipe from Happy Homemaker Monday :) Makes for a super easy weeknight meal!

1/3 cup mayo-type salad dressing (I use the light & fit version from aldi)
1/3 cup grated parmesan
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 c. italian bread crumbs

In a medium mixing bowl, combine salad dressing, cheese, and garlic powder. Coat chicken with mayo mixture & cover each with bread crumbs. Arrange chicken on an ungreased baking sheet (I just LOVE my large bar pan). Bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden and juices run clear. Makes 4 servings.

ENJOY!

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods:

It's a mild day, and is suppose to be like this all week. 80 degrees and sunny...we'll take it!

One of my simple pleasures: walks around the park with my hubby and baby girl

On my bedside table: "Remarkable Women of the Bible" by Elizabeth George

On my TV: tonight Seth and I are going to try to watch some of "The Way of the Master" series. We have kinda been missing out; the rest of the church has been watching these videos during Sunday School, but because we both teach we haven't been there. We are gearing up for a weekend of evangelism this coming weekend...so are excited to watch these in the evening this week.

On the menu for tonight: Parmesan Crusted Chicken & red potatoes

On my To Do List: where to begin? Would you pray for me this week? We have a lot going on...I'm getting things all together for the preschool program for kids kamp, plus I need to be packing for family camp which is next week, and we are getting ready for the Founders Festival this weekend.

New Recipe I tried last week: Kettle Corn! I LOVE it! We went to "Art in the Park" on Friday, and the smell of popcorn made me want to come home and make my own. I figured I could at least try to make Kettle Corn. I found a recipe in one of my cookbooks and gave it a whirl...yummy!

In the craft basket:Preschool crafts for kids kamp...anyone have any great preschool craft ideas to share?! Feel free to post a comment with ideas...I'm still looking for one or two more.

Looking forward to: The Founders Festival this weekend. Excited to share the gospel with our community.

Homemaking Tip for this week: keep popcorn in the freezer, it lasts longer and pops better.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other): Just a Glimpse by Erica. I'm SO excited for my little niece/nephew!

Favorite photo from last week: It's always hard to choose one favorite photo: but I really do love this action shot...looks like my little one is ready to take on the world!

Lesson learned the past few days: When I am weak, HE is strong

On my Prayer List: time management, my sister and sister-in-law who are both expecting :), upcoming ministries at church: Founders Festival and Kids Kamp (like vbs)

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
"And God is able to make all grace abound in you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will be able to abound in every work."
1 Corinthians 9:8

Graduation Parties

This morning Daddy left bright and early for a golf tournament. Mommy and I spent the day at home. Mom tired to catch up on some house work and spent time playing with me too. We read lots of books and practiced the Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear rhyme. I have almost all the motions down...and will post a video soon. When Daddy got home, we headed off to some grad parties. First stop was Aarons house...we didn't stay long, because we still had to visit Danny. I had a lot of fun there though...he had a bouncy. There were no other kids using it..so I got bounce all by myself. I ran from one end to the other and just had so much fun.

Art in the Park

We continued Fridays theme of free fun by taking in "Art in the Park" in downtown Plymouth. We went Friday evening after Seth got home from practicing for his golf tournament. We enjoyed a beautiful summer evening together. It was fun to look at all the art, eat some ice cream, and play on a nearby playground with Hannah. More of life's simple pleasures :)

enjoying an "orange creamsicle" ice cream cone with mommy

down the slide with Daddy...whee!

our brave little girl ready to take on the world..this is definitely a favorite picture!!

after a few times of crawling up the steps, she decided that she wanted to hold onto the railing and walk up. My little girl is growing up right before my eyes