~ Shopping Trip ~

Okay, wow. Boy, did we have a crazy time!
Great memories.

Work Day & Concert

Dear Friends,
We are having an outdoor workday here on the hill! Carl E. and David S. came over to help out, and they are getting a lot done.
Later this evening, we will travel to a concert... not just any concert, though.
It's an Isaacs concert!!!
We shall take pictures, and post them on both blogs (hopefully) in the next few days!
Love to you all in Christ,
Ashley

this morning

Little Johnny ran a fever through the night, and is still a sick baby this morning. We are feeding him Jello and letting him watch movies on the couch. His first choice was "Over the Hedge".
Mama is praying that no one else catches the cold, and she went to rest for a while while we keep a close eye on the invalid. The poor mom doesn't get much sleep as it is, and having a sick little one is really wearing her out.

Also, we woke up to a neat surprise this morning...
We now have another dog (Although, Daddy says we're not keeping it.).
Her name is Kitten (Josh came up with that one!).
She is already great friends with Jack, our "guard dog" (They would have liked to be more than friends, I think.).
She is sleeping on our front porch (We tied her up because of the kitties, just in case.).
And... she's very sweet and pretty adorable. Kitten has one of the best "sad puppy" looks ever.

Meg and I are going to have a photo shoot with her sometime today, and then we'll probably make posters to hang up around the area advertising that we found a dog. A sweet, lovable, cute, sad-faced dog... named Kitten.

But, we're not keeping her.

Fine Linen Drama Presents...

You really must come.
The cast is made up of a bunch of really great people... most of whom we know personally.
That makes it twice as enjoyable, in my opinion!
To name a few:
~ Steve Q.
~ Scott Alford
~ Nathan Hickle
~ Kevin Edwards
~ Nisbett men
~ Paul Hamacher

Hope to see you there!

For His Purpose

"All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."

~Proverbs 14:23~

This is one of my favorite verses in Proverbs, because every time I read it I am challenged!

Some of you may know that I am finishing up my high school subjects, planning to be completely done by Christmas time. I am finding that it takes much focus and determination to accomplish all that I need to get done each day! Something that keeps me encouraged and even excited to do my work, though, is remembering that this is my calling for the season of life that I am in right now. I am walking in the Lord's will, following in the training He has laid out in order to prepare me for His purpose in the future!

Let us not waste a single moment of the time of life we are in today!! If we desire to live for the glory of the Savior, then we should be excited to wake up every morning with the knowledge that we are being trained for the fulfillment of our calling in Christ.

I encourage and challenge you, brothers and sisters, to press on in the name of our Lord! May the greatest yearning of our hearts be to follow hard after Jesus.

Rejoicing in Him,

ashley

Families of Faith

Hello All!
You're probably wondering what that picture is doing on this post. :) And maybe you're wondering who those funny girls are. I shall answer both wonderings.... and, if you weren't wondering at all, then you don't have to keep reading. But you might want to, either way! lol

The girls are Jenny and me. The picture was taken during Rolla Bible Church's moving day! For those of you who don't know, we have a new location (with lots more room!). We are now in what used to be the "Tenth Street Dinner House" building on, ... umm, 10th Street (who would have guessed?). So anyway, now that you know about the picture, I'll let you know why I'm posting it this morning!

YOU ARE INVITED!!

On Wednesday evenings, from 5:45-8:30pm, our church has what we call Families of Faith Night! There is a meal served at 6, which is a great time to relax and enjoy fellowship. After meal cleanup (done by two appointed families, switching off every week), everyone heads into the sanctuary for worship time led by one of the families in the church (this also switches every week). Worship is one of my favorite parts of the evening! :) Then, most of the little ones go off into the classrooms for their "Bible in Me" time and games. During this time, the adults and young people join together for a Bible study and prayer time. This is such a wonderful opportunity to share what the Lord has been teaching you, and also to be encouraged by other believers! After Bible time, everyone (including the kids) has game time... and you never really know what to expect! If the weather is nice, we usually go outside for field games, but once it's dark, we come back and play in the fellowship hall. After that, everyone heads home whenever they are ready!

So, the purpose of this post was to say that you, your family and friends are invited to come to Rolla Bible Church for Families of Faith Night ~ every Wednesday evening!!

Time: 5:45-8:30pm
What to Wear: comfortable, casual clothes
What to Bring: a Bible, if you like, but we have plenty to share
What to Expect: a great time of fun, fellowship, and encouragement from God's Word
(you might even come away challenged!)

Rejoicing in Him,
ashley louise

from Evening Quiet Time

" The Almighty Who knows our end from our beginning is in control... He desires to use our present situation to conform us into the image of Yahshua."
~Shanna Fournier

"Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind." ~Psalm 26:2

Let my all - body, heart, mind, and soul - be for His glory.

"As ye therefore received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk ye in Him." ~Colossians 2:6

May I learn to have Him be my All in All... every breath unto His name.

"He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him." ~Psalm 18:30

He is to be the Keeper of my heart, the Lover of my soul. Daily He guides and teaches, with the tender moving of His Spirit.

For great is Your love, higher than the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

With God we will gain the victory..." ~Psalm 108:4,13a

Lord, let me be at rest, waiting still and quiet, so as to hear... lead me on!

Ready for a New Production?!

This was Megan and Tess toward the close of last season's Fine Linen production of The Pirates of Penzance. It was so sad, but all good things must come to an end sometime. *sigh*
But it is not done for good! We have two new Fine Linen productions coming up ~ one already much in progress, which we will soon advertise, and the other... well... I will make you wait for news of the other.
So anyway, for now, enjoy looking back over the last few years. These are the F.L. productions that my family has been involved in!


Last season, we did some scenes from Annie, and the kids were just perfect!!

"... and we wish we could do Annie in the fall!"

This was one of my favorite scenes, when we girls all got captured by the pirates! Everyone was so great to work with... they became our "theatre family".

Two years ago we did The Prince and the Pauper, which was a smashing success!

(Sorry I couldn't dig up more pictures for this one... we really need to sort our picture files on this computer!)

I was backstage help as well as "Nanny" to the little Nisbetts. That was great fun, and I really miss my theatre playmates! :)

The cast of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown... three years ago!

LtoR: Janessa, Me(!), Adam, Josh, Nathan, Joel, and Elise

Charlie Brown multiple cast, same year. The younger kids did a great job, and were very fun to watch, on and off stage!

From an Evening Quiet Time

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young."
~Lamentations 3:21-27~

Morning Thoughts

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will cousel you and watch over you... the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart."
~ Psalm 32:8,10b,11 ~

A New Day

This is yet another one of my favorites by Norman Rockwell. I love how the dog is watching so intently. Be sure to smile and have fun today...

... "This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

Camp David Staff Retreat!

For anyone interested in helping out at Camp David of the Ozarks next summer, I wanted to let you know that there is a retreat planned for the 18th-20th of this month. If you would like to give of your time to help children in need, serving at CDO would be a great place to be... and they're already looking for new recruits for next year! :) So, if you think you're interested and would like to attend the retreat, feel free to leave me a comment, and I'll get back to you with more info.
Also, would anyone like to see more camp pictures?? I have access to tons of great ones (that have not been posted on either of our blogs yet!), and would be more than happy to do a "Camp David Scrapbook, '09" on here for ya'all. :) Just comment and let me know...
In Him,
ashley louise

Completely random

David did Meg's hair, in the car, on the way to the river.