Coffee Talk with Christie

reality is beginning to hit me - urgh... back to work i go... and full-time - beginning this monday.

enough complaining!

this morning i woke up and found myself falling back asleep while i was praying for my family. this happens just about each morning.

i have so much to be thankful for - i love my family, i love my husband, dan, ( here is a plug for his most excellent blog...http://danponjican.blogspot.com)

today, i feel very thankful for what God is doing in our lives and in our ministry.

last night we had teen class, the students seemed to have a desire to learn what we were teaching in order to teach inmates in a local minimum security prison - on what it is to be FREE. free from sin, free from negative thought processes and free to begin a new life - each day.

this morning was national day of prayer at school - also known as see you at the pole.

i went to north davidson high.

there were approximately seventy-five students gathered to profess their faith in Christ.

six of the students that dan and I teach in Heavenview's teen class showed up! i am so proud of them!

i met a new friend, named steve, who requested prayer for his grandmother who lives in sc - she is very sick.

i ran into my old friend, dino, who visited the lexington church a few times while dan and i were there.

i had the opportunity to speak with coach - he is very interested in me attending the weekly FCA meetings again. i will do my best to help him in any way that i can.

with going back to work full-time october 1st, my life is destined to be even busier than it is right now - i must keep my priorities in line with what God wants to do through me.

i am yours Lord.

i flew back to nc yesterday... i was so happy to see dan, but have begun missing my family already.

i went straight to work when i got back in town - southwest gave me a wonderful deal, i flew out of raleigh into philadelphia - it was about an hour and twenty minutes in the air, and only cost me $49 each way. what a great deal! i was in md yesterday morning, flew back to raleigh, nc, then drove to work in winston-salem to work my full day of five hours - all in one day, not bad, huh? (I am still part time =)

well, i guess i should talk about something more spiritual already!

this is my plug for See You At The Pole - i hope you are participating in it. (especially, if you head a student ministry or deal with students in any capacity)

what a positive influence you can have on these guys!

on wednesday morning, september 26th at a7:30 a.m. why don't you try to pray at a flagpole with the students at a nearby school - show them that you believe in what they are doing, and watch them grow tremendously in their faith walk.

check out www.syatp.com - the theme this year is gather. unite. pray. come together. (based on john 17:20-23)

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

i am in md - with my family - we stayed up until after 2 a.m. counting coins last night.

eliz and i determined that we would count all of the coins in mom's coin jar - she has been saving coinage for almost ten years!!! my lord!

this has become our weekend project. =)

we have rolled $76 worth of coinage so far - today we are taking the pennies that weigh more than eliz and i combined to a coinstar... i know... they charge about 8% - which eliz and i think is worth it for the pennies... my mom wants to roll these right here and right now...

gotta run... i will write more later...

oh, one more thing, dan did his first detailing job yesterday and had great results!

i will write more later...

yippee! i am going home soon =)

i am so looking forward to spending time with my family, i have not seen them since may - i only live seven hours away... that's insane... i must do better in the future to find time to get away.

so, what's on your mind today?

i have recently become overwhelmed by God's perfect plan unfolding in mine and dan's lives.

God really DOES know the desires of your heart and He really will open doors for His purpose to be accomplished through you.

be encouraged, YOU ARE on God's mind - and He DOES hear us when we talk to Him.

wait on the Lord, be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart, wait i say, on the Lord.

my thoughts this morning...

i go back to work full-time on october 1st - having mixed emotions about that right now.

i love my mornings at home.

**

a book i have been reading that has relevance...

simply strategic growth - attracting a crowd to your church by tim stevens and tony morgan - you can buy this book by clicking this link: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/used/listingResults.asp?z=y&stage=csListingResults&WID=12554002

Here is an excerpt for you to ponder.

"When people come after you with a baseless accusation, just look for the kernel of truth that God may want you to hear, and let the rest of it go."

"It's natural to want to defend yourself and your ministry. I wanted to pick up the phone and call this guy. I wanted to explain to him why he was wrong and what we were really trying to do. I wanted him to meet a thousand people who have had their lives changed by Jesus while at Granger. If they could tell their stories, surely he would change his view! I wanted to invite him to Clear Lake on a Sunday afternoon in September so he could watch 400 adults being baptized in one service. I wanted to sit down with him and watch the video of the service in August when 365 people publicly accepted Christ into their lives. But I realized it's not my job to change his heart. We just need to keep doing the next right thing. We need to continue to reach our community with the love of Christ. We need to look for opportunities to reach out to him and his church in love, but really - we just need to keep doing what God has called us to do."

be encouraged today... you cannot please man AND God, so you might as well just do your best to please God and let Him worry about man.

yesterday was my little sister's birthday and as we all know the anniversary of a very sad time for our country.

i took time to call my sister to chit chat about her happy day.

i also took time to reflect on the loss that was experienced by many on september 11th, 2001.

i remember the day so well. dan had taken me to work at dupont pharmaceuticals in wilmington, de and was on his way to my parent's place.

it was around 9 a.m.

i was working in my office, listening to christian radio online, when i heard the horrible news, that i didn't even believe at first. i honestly thought that it was some kind of halloween trick, even though halloween was still a while away.

once i realized this was actually happening, i called dan and asked him to pick me up, our office closed down almost immediately.

i joined my family to watch the news. how devastating this attack was - and the lives that were taken, how could this have happened?

i do not remember feeling worried or thinking twice about our freedom, until that day.

now, each time i am in a large public gathering or on an airplane, i wonder if i am really safe.

i know God is watching us. bad things do happen to good people though.

not to get too spiritual here, the Bible says that it rains on the just and the unjust, and God is no respecter of persons.

i guess this means we should be ready for our eternity at any time. we never know when that will be. life is truly a vapor. we are here for a season and then we are gone.

how great is our God, sing with me how great is our God, and all will sing how great, how great, is our God... la la la



dan and i went to grandfather mountain on labor day - to go hiking.

what a beautiful sight to see, sitting at the top of the mountain. God's creation is perfect. it is mind-blowingly gorgeous. (mind-blowingly is a self-made word, and i am proud of it.)

i want to go back regularly to journalize, take pictures and feel closer to God.

**

today, i ask this question based on last night's teen class discussion... is it is a sin to live with guilt?

i don't think there are many who read this post, but those who do, i want to hear from you! - and begin a bit of a debate.

i have asked myself, "is it a sin to be guilty?" I think that guilt and conviction work hand in hand, even though they are not the same thing.

living with guilt on the other hand - i seriously wonder about...is this what God wants for us? could we go as far as saying it is a sin?

post your comments now!