PAUSE

Hi everybody! Since I apparently have decided that I'm not going to be writing on here very often, none of you know that I'm at a leadership/discipleship/ministry training in the middle of the USA for the next 8 weeks (I've already been here for a week). I have SO much that I want to type out here and let all of you know about, but I've decided instead to put the blog on hold until I get home. I found that just thinking about what I wanted to share and how I wanted to share it was very distracting. And I want as few distractions as possible right now. I've dedicated and set apart these 9 weeks for the Lord and I want to keep them that way.

When I get home I will either be closing this blog or changing it all around. My life and thoughts have gone in a new direction (a wonderful new direction) and if I choose to keep this blog I'm definitely going to make it more of an extension of the new me.

I hope all of you will still be around in 8 weeks. Because if I choose to keep this blog I think it will end up being pretty inspiring. God is definitely working.

See you in 8 weeks!! :)

Allergy testing and H2O

The newest round of tests for my itchiness are allergy tests. I had the environmental test two weeks ago. They pricked me with 14 different allergens. Turns out I'm allergic to cats, tree pollen and dust mites. Now I'm in the midst of a chemical test where they put patches of the chemicals most commonly used in everyday cleaners and shampoos and stuff like that on your back and leave them there for 2-3 days. We'll see how that goes.

This morning I showed the patches to the boys I nanny. The oldest one (he's 6) was super interested and asked lots of questions. And when I told him the patches were bothering me he very sweetly offered to let me smell the cleaners in his house and he would watch to see if I sneezed. Later on he asked me if I was allergic to H2O. I said no and then he asked if there is carbon dioxide in H2O. Instead of answering him I asked him some questions of my own:
Me: "What does the H stand for?"
6-year-old: "Hydrogen."
Me: "Right. And what does the O stand for?"
6-year-old: "Oxygen."
Me: "Right. So is there carbon dioxide in water?"
6-year-old: "No, but there are two Oxygen atoms and one Hydrogen atom."
Me: "Umm ... Right."
He's too smart for me. :)

This is probably materialistic of me ...

But I want an iPad. Mostly because I want to be able to update my blog from anywhere. I have all kinds of adorable things in my head to tell you during the week, but I rarely succeed at actually getting them on my blog. So sad.

The thing is, I don't even really want an iPad. Too distracting. I need an update-bloginator. Someone should invent that.

BIG things revisited ...

A little while ago I wrote a post entitled "BIG things" about two things happening in my life that I couldn't share about yet. Well, now I can share ...

The big thing that I was excited about is the possibility that I may be going to the Philippines for a few months to help out at a Christian orphanage/boarding school called Happy Horizons Ranch. The ranch rescues street children and girls that are involved in sex trading/slavery. It would be a tough place to minister, but I've always had a call to help children and the stories of the girls that are there break my heart. Unfortunately, the door has been slightly closed (more accurately - delayed in opening), but I am still hopeful that God will open the door in His timing. Even if the door to the ranch ends up being permanently closed, I know that God will show me where He wants me to go and give me what I need to get there.

The other big thing, the one I was petrified about, is that my doctor sent me for a lot of testing because she believed that I had lymphoma. I have had intensely itchy skin for over a year and no one can figure out what is making me itch (before you say anything - it's not eczema or dry skin. Trust me.). After three blood tests, two x-rays, one CT scan and numerous doctor's visits I have been given a "clean bill of health" when it comes to cancer. No lymphoma. YAY!! Now of course we have to start a different round of tests, but that's ok. As long as we're working to figure it out.

In other, more happy news, my mom an Jay are married!! :) I'll post about that as soon as I get pictures.

But we still have God

I just attended the wake of a three-year-old little boy.

Three-years-old.

He passed away 13 days before his fourth birthday.

The casket was so tiny.

His mother was radiant and comforting others.

Why?

Because God carries us.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

BIG things ...

Two major things may be happening in my life in the near future. One I am absolutely thrilled about and one I am absolutely petrified about. I can't share beyond that yet, but I need prayer. So if you're thinking about it ... please pray for Christine and her upcoming joys and challenges.

No matter what happens (or doesn't happen) I know God is in control and I know that He will give me the strength to do whatever He asks of me. But I need to remember to trust Him and have complete faith in Him and His promise that He has plans to give me a hope and a future. Thank you in advance for your prayers - it's so comforting just to know that the body of Christ can join together in prayer, no matter where they are.

"Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."

~Romans 11:33-36

God's Word ...

These two portions of Scripture have really stuck out to me lately ...

Romans 8:15-18 "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
(I found this verse one night when I needed the reminder that God is my Father, and then I found it again about a month later in my regular time of devotion. The last verse, "For I reckon ..." was one of my daddy's favorite scriptures)

John 15:1-10 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."
(I heard a sermon on this at church on Sunday and have been thinking about it since. Can you believe we get to ABIDE in our God??)

Blog Break

I took a short little blog break because once I get on this thing I can't stop myself!! I spend hours catching up on other people's blogs and finding random blogs and just overall wasting time on-line (not all of it is wasted time, but a lot of it is). So I took a short break and made myself spend time on other things. But I'm back now, couldn't spend too much time away.

The past week or so has been pretty crazy - lots of big and little changes, many of them I either can't talk about on-line or I'm not willing/ready to share yet. One I can talk about is WEIGHT WATCHERS. That's right - I started the good ol' WW plan a little over a week ago. I'm not really that overweight, but it's enough that I'm uncomfortable (especially since I was TINY in high school) so I had started to think about losing weight, but hadn't really gotten serious. And then my bridesmaid dress (for my mom's wedding) came in ... time to lose the back fat! So I signed up and started counting points! It hasn't been too bad - I've even done two 5am workouts (Yikes!). And guess what? I've lost 2 pounds so far! Which I think it pretty good :) The only problem I'm having is that I've had the munchies lately and I haven't figured out what I can have that's not too many points. The good news is that most fruit is no points, but really - a person can only eat so much fruit!

Hope you all are doing well! (those of you that have blogs - I'm just about to check in on how you're doing) If any of you have ever been on Weight Watchers and have some tips I would love to hear them ...

WE are the children of God

Please watch this video until the end. It's AMAZING!

VERY exciting news!!

Something wonderful happened a few weeks ago that I couldn't post about until certain people were told. Well, they've all been told now and I've been given permission to post this wonderful news ...

My mama is engaged!!

Jay asked her to marry him the Sunday after Valentine's Day! Their wedding is set for mid-June, so needless to say our household conversations (and sometimes schedules) very much revolve around the wedding. Which works for me because I LOVE weddings!! :)

God is SO good and put these two together in a wonderful way! Maybe someday I'll convince my mom to be a guest blogger and share their story. But if she doesn't, just know that God is faithful and He takes GREAT care of His children.

"And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. ... And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; and the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken, ... And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

~Luke 21:11,25-26,28

Cold Wave in Bangladesh (January 2011)

Tropical Cyclone Vania in Vanuatu (January 2011)



Floods in Southern Africa (January 2011)

Floods and landslides in Bolivia (January 2011)

Cyclone Wilma (January 2011)

Floods in Malaysia (January 2011)

Cyclone Yasi (January 2011)

Cold Wave in Mexico (February 2011)

Cyclone Bingiza in Madagascar (February 2011)

Earthquake in New Zealand (February 2011)

Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan (March 2011)

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah."

~Psalm 46:1-3

Daddy's Birthday Card ...

Dear Daddy,

I miss you. A lot.

I miss your smile and your laugh and the way you lit up when you talked about Jesus.

I miss the way you always had your hands folded over your stomach.

I miss waking up to your voice telling me some nonsensical thing that could have definitely waited until my alarm went off.

I miss kissing you goodnight and I miss hearing your footsteps as you got ready for bed. They were such comforting footsteps.

I miss having someone to tell me I look pretty (you always knew when I tried extra hard, and you always went out of your way to let me know you noticed. Nothing like a daddy's love to boost a girl's self esteem.)

I miss hearing, "When I was younger a loaf of bread was a nickle."

I even miss watching Red Sox games.

I miss your preaching. You were so passionate about seeing the lost saved. And even though your face got bright red and even purple while you preached, you always gave it everything you had.

I miss knowing you were praying for me. Every morning.

I miss having you to go to with questions about Scripture. Do you know how many times I've wished I could ask you what you think God meant after I've read something in the Bible?

I almost miss helping you organize the over 20 pills you took everyday towards the end.

I miss conversations that ranged from politics to baseball to God to the past to money and back.

I miss your hugs.

I miss watching you worship Jesus.

I miss you teasing me about my multiplication tables.

I miss you teasing me in general (never thought I'd say that).

There's so much more that I miss, but the thing I miss the most is being the daughter of Robert Salliby. You were Bongo Bob turned Pastor Bob, but I mostly knew you as Daddy Bob.

I miss YOU daddy.

I can't give you your birthday kisses today, but I know that Jesus is loving on you more than I ever could. And as much as you loved me and mommy - you're having a much better birthday in Heaven. I know you are because you're with your Savior. And you can breath normally and you're not in any pain. How wonderful that must be!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

I love you so much!
~Christine

xoxoxo

(this picture was taken less than a month before daddy went home to be with Jesus. I'm pretty sure it's the last picture of us.)

Sobering Statistics

I was reading through a blog's archives today and I came across this post. It's a few years old, but the numbers are staggering.

Children are hurting and they need our help.

"The least of these" need people to show them the love of Christ ... what are you doing about it?

I know what I'm doing - nothing. I say I love children and yet I am doing NOTHING to help the millions of hurting children all over the world. That needs to stop. They need help.

My first step towards helping is to fast and pray for them this Wednesday. I was reading another wonderful blog (the one about the 10 kids that I wrote about earlier) and the author asked her readers to join her in praying for the orphans this Wednesday. The post can be found here. Would you join as well? Together we can use the power of prayer to touch the lives of little children that we will never meet.

Sometimes I'm thick-headed

Tonight God showed me that I don't have it all that bad. He used a movie shown at church, 2 blogs, a conversation and a facebook message. All in the span of about 4 hours. Apparently I REALLY needed to learn that lesson tonight.

Once again, I'm up way later than I want to be

It's like the computer sucks me in! I'm headed to bed at 10 o'clock and then it's, "let me check my facebook real quick" followed by 2 hours of blog reading and mindless web surfing. Seriously! How does the computer do that??

Anyway ... since I'm on already I thought I'd update you all on the "Life Overhaul" progress. It's slow. Because I pretty much lost all of my motivation very quickly. But last night and tonight I've made myself work on downsizing. I finally admitted to myself that my room is always a mess because I have too much junk. The thing is I've already downsized at least twice since moving in. How does one person accumulate so much stuff?? A lot of it is scrapbooking supplies for my hobby of collecting scrapbooking supplies (really - I very rarely scrapbook) so the past two nights I've been sorting through that. Yes it took two nights. And I'm still not done. I'll have to post some pictures of the stuff I'm getting rid of. There's a lot of it!

My mom did some downsizing tonight too. There are bags all over our living room as proof that we were both trying hard to get rid of stuff (the bags are of the stuff we're giving away, in case you were wondering what bags had to do with anything). The poor woman is trying to get rid of some of the stuff we kept from my dad, but I'm being very reluctant. Maybe I should just pick a few meaningful things and let her donate the rest. ... I'll work on that.

Now I am truly going to turn off the computer and GO TO BED! Hope you all have a great day!

My Heart's Desire

It is way late and I should have been in bed hours ago, but instead I've been reading a very inspirational blog about a family that has 10 children (more than half of them are adopted). It's amazing what God has done and continues to do in this family! They have had a lot of tragedy and illness in their lives, but through it all they have been faithful to the Lord and continue to say that He is blessing them and loving them in supernatural ways.

I think the reason I love reading this blog so much is because that's what I want - a giant family made up of biological and adopted children. I want my house to be filled with giggles and love and organized chaos. I want to rescue orphans and give them love, a family and the knowledge of the wonderful God that created them. I want to get no sleep because I'm taking care of children, not because I'm reading about somebody that does (I know, I know - it's my own fault). I want to partner with a godly man to raise warriors for Christ. Warriors that will have a heart for the "least of these".

That's what I want. It might not be what I get (which will be ok too - God's ways are always higher), but it's what I want.

How God is beginning to teach me to be joyful ...

I just need to start off by saying that my God is faithful! Even when I am not faithful to Him and I fail - He is still faithful. He is right there waiting to pick me back up and help me start again. I am so incredibly grateful for His unending love!!

My last post was about the overall lack of joy in my life, something that I had been struggling with for a while. Well, God is amazing and has brought about some wonderful things from that blog post (and the subsequent prayer times). For one thing - through a comment made on my last post (thanks Judy!) and a verse given to me during my quiet time I have come to understand that in order to be joyful I must rejoice in my salvation and praise my Savior (interesting that I just posted about a sermon I heard on praise ... God works everything together). This is something I've begun to work on more diligently - praising God through the good and the bad. Telling God how fantastic He is while I'm driving to work and thinking about all the wonderful things He's done for me while I'm falling asleep. I can feel God slowly filling my joyfulness tank :)

An amazing friend of mine (who also happens to be a marvelous mentor) posted a sermon on my facebook page after reading my last blog (still haven't watched it yet - I should get on that) and another wonderful woman in my life saw it and decided to read my blog as well. I've been talking to her about joy and God since then and I can tell something awesome is going to come out of this "new" connection. I can't wait to see what God will do!!

I have a tiny (in length) testimony to share: A close friend of mine has begun digging into prayer and what it means and how God uses it to work in our lives. Last night she sent up a quick prayer for something that she needed God to do. This morning God answered her over and abundantly. He is so faithful to teach us! Praise the Lord!! :)

Where's the joy?

I was talking to my mom today about all the loss and change that has been happening in our lives in the last year and a half and how much I have grown from it. Then I came to this realization - I've grown, but I've also lost the joy. I'm less joyful now than I used to be. Less positive. And that's really just not acceptable. But how do I get the joy back??

Life Overhaul

I am a messy, unorganized, procrastinating, pretty much always late, life full of clutter person. Always have been. I've always been that person and I've always been sick of being that person. So I finally decided - I'm done. I'm done losing important papers. I'm done rushing in the morning. I'm done basing my outfit choices purely on what is clean. I'm done barely being able to find my bedroom floor. I'm just done. So I'm overhauling my life. The next two months will be spent cleaning out my room and car, going through my boxes of "important papers", making a budget, figuring out how to eat better and making myself a workable schedule. With God's help by mid-April I will be a new woman!

I'll be posting pictures as I go (definitely afters, maybe befores too) so check in every once in a while. ;)

A Little Poem ...

I accidentally made this up tonight :)

Sometimes the only motivation you need
is the feeling you get when you succeed.

"Praise the Lord; for His mercy endureth forever!"

Have any of you ever read the story of the men of Judah vs. the men of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir? It's a crazy, amazing story! (read 2 Chronicles 20 for the full story) Basically, Ammon, Moab and mount Seir are in a war with Judah. The men of Judah are way outnumbered and cannot figure out how to get out of this battle alive. So what does their king do? He puts singers on the front lines. That's right - singers. He tells them to "praise the beauty of [the Lord's] holiness ... and to say, 'Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever'" (v. 21). ... Let's just pause and picture this for a moment - the national army of Judah is suited up and ready for battle. It's a battle they know they can't win, but they're going in anyway. And then, on the way to meet their enemies, their king stops all forward movement and appoints people to stand in the front lines and PRAISE THE LORD. Not exactly the tactic I would use, but clearly it works ... The very next verse says, "And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir ... and they were smitten." And this smitten does not mean in love, let me tell you that right now. Know how I know? Because when the men of Judah get to the watchtower and look out to see what they're up against - all they can see is dead bodies. Can you imagine the shock?? They're expecting to see 3 national armies, armed and ready to attack and kill, and instead they see dead people everywhere. That must have been an awesome moment!

What lesson do I take away from this? Be ready for battle, but remember to praise God through it all because ultimately He's the one that will bring the victory.

(this story was preached by Pastor David at Christian Assembly this Sunday while I was visiting - his sermon title was "Praise to God")

Acts 11:23

In this section of Acts, Barnabas is visiting existing churches. This is what it says about his "sermon" to the church at Antioch: "Who, when he [Barnabas] came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord." As I was reading this verse I was reminded of Genesis 2:24 ("Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."). As a single girl learning how to trust Jesus to be her everything, this verse made me very happy.

To cleave means "to cling to a person or thing closely". I've always thought it made perfect sense when talking about marriage, but I never thought about it within the context of my relationship with God. I love knowing that I can cling to Jesus closely and trust Him with my hopes, dreams, emotions and life. He knows me better than I know myself and He not only allows me to have a relationship with Him, He wants me to! What an amazing truth to live by!!

HappyLight 6000

My new favorite "toy". :)

Let me introduce you to the HappyLight 6000. It is a "powerful, compact Happy Light". According to the Verilux website:

 •Up to 6,000 LUX of Natural Spectrum® daylight lifts spirits, sharpens concentration and improves energy levels

•Helps recalibrate and normalize Circadian Rhythms for a healthy night's sleep

•Emulates natural sunshine to improve mood and well-being

•Sleek, space-saving design is ideal for home, office or dorm room

•Energy efficient bulb uses only 36 Watts to produce 300 Watts of Natural spectrum light

Doesn't that all sound awesome?? I've only had it for a few days so I can't attest to any of the claims, but I do know that just it's name makes me smile. (I also learned not to look directly at it, especially when you're first turning it on)

So much ...

I haven't posted in a while and it's not because nothing is happening. It's actually because so much is happening that I don't know what to say. So many changes, small and large, have been happening in my life, thoughts and emotions that I've barely figured out how to process them in my mind - nevermind trying to process them through a keyboard onto a screen that anybody and everybody can read. When I figure out what and how I want to share, my faithful blog readers (if there are any) will be the first to know.

This time last year ...

My daddy had been in the icu for 2 days and we were completely positive that he was going to wake up any minute.