Happy Monday

Hello, family! I'm with Tod--I can't believe how time has flown. It's been a bit of a strange week for us. Ben has been out-of-pocket with a YouthWAVE meeting in Austin all day Thursday, then a men's retreat Fri-Sat. I spent most of the time he was away working on a project at church. We're in the midst of construction, and they put in a 35-foot temporary wall down the main hallway (blocking 4-ft. of an 8-ft. walkway!) It was an eyesore--big brown masonite wall, and a real pain. So, Ben thought it would be cool to make lemonade out of lemons. We launched 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting for our neighbors yesterday. So, 2 other women and I spent Thurs-Sat painting a mural on the wall. I wasn't the designer--just the slave labor. It turned out to be quite something. Yesterday people had the opportunity to sign the wall as their commitment to pray. There's a calendar painted on that they put a sticker on for the days they will fast, and the children put their handprints on. It was a big hit, and I think it will be a good reminder/motivator for the 40 days. Something about signing your name to something seems to make it carry some weight. Each person received a list of 28 people in our neighborhood to pray for. At the end of the 40 days we'll mail them a note telling them we've been praying for them and a personal invitation to our Easter service. I can't wait to see what the Lord does! Already someone called last night saying she was thrilled because one of her neighbors that she's been praying for happened to be on her list. (By the way, we copied several ideas we saw at GCR as well--signs in the bathrooms, calendars, etc.)

Meanwhile, back at the house the kids had a wonderful teen babysitting. Her family was going camping and she really wanted to stay here for a few babysitting jobs, so she spent the whole weekend with us. I have to say, it was very nice having the extra hands, even when I was home! It made me think what a blessing Bailey is to her family--to our whole family!

We had our last youth group Super Bowl party last night. It feels strange having our "lasts" with our teens. We hope that next year maybe we'll have a Super Bowl party with some of our neighbors!

Girls, I'm about ready for that lake time! Have we made any progress on setting a date?

I enjoy so much hearing about all of your lives. Each of you serve the Lord in beautiful ways, and I love to hear about it! Mom, the Groundhog Day card was great! I'm hoping for Valentine's Day, but it is fast approaching!

"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power..to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Eph. 3:18-19