Supplication

James 5:13-15
"Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet....Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with."MSG



Hey guys!!!! I am so excited to have our bible study kicked off this week. Those of you that were not able to make it, can make it to the one next week. We are discussing prayer and the different ways that can be done. The goal is to find the way that you best communicate with God in order to touch his heart and know his will more clearly. If you didn't make it and want to join in on our daily and weekly challenge you may. We must as Christians learn to be humble before the Lord in order that he may teach us something of value and blessing to us. (Supplication) So to do that take 30 minutes a day for the next week and go outside by yourself without your ipod and sit in silence with uplifted hands prasing him only. This is a time to praise God for who he is and not to point out what our needs are. The daily challenge throughout this whole study is to buy a nice journal and write in it daily. This is a place that you can express yourself to God without anyone stopping or hindering you. Good Luck and God is right behind you!!!!

Jennifer

Hey guys! I hope that this week has been fun for you. It has been incredible to watch you guys pull together and use your talents to help out with VBS. Ttam has finished another successful year of defeating no good foes, but he could not have done it without your help and ideas.

On another note, I wanted to remind all the girls that we are having our first girl's bible study next week. As close as that is, I still do not have an affirmative date or location, but I assure you that it will be known and be made known to you as soon as I have a plan. It will be about prayer and different ways that can be done. I look forward to it and I hope that you guys are staying in the word and staying in each other's lives. I love you!!!!

Jennifer

Look for more to come soon!!!!!

Day 2

Hey Guys, This is Mr. Mo



First of all to Gracie, Eva, Sharon, Karon, Morgan, Sarah, and Nicole:



You girls are a trip. If you had told me you could put me on a motorhome with 11 people, nine of which are girls and six of those are teens, travel 2000 miles over 5 days and 4 nights, and still come back sane, palease. But these girls proved me wrong. I am overwhelmed by what you girls have shown me the last few days.



First of all, the patience you all showed when we were having what seemed like one problem after another (step problems, belt problems, thunderstorms, traffic jams) and that was all within the first eight hours of a 106 hour journey.



Then for all of you, especially Karon and Nicole to overcome some serious reservations about the rides that Kings Dominion offers. And by the end of the day, they were begging to go again on the most challenging rides.



Then the following day in Washington, DC to see the range of emotions that you experienced as we visited the memorials and monuments. Especially Gracie and Morgan, as Valerie told you about a childhood friend she had who was killed in Vietnam. And amazingly among the tens of thousands of names on that wall both of you found that one name as you were just walking by the wall. Friends and family often spend days looking for their loved ones name on that wall. Just amazing what you did. And Morgan touched the deepest parts of my heart and soul as she insisted that we visit the WWII Memorial, because she knew her grandfather, my dad, was in that war and has recently shared with her not so pleasant memories from that time of his life. It was tough to fight back the emotions as I took her photo in front of the WWII memorial for her to send to him. She also had me take a photo of a penny that she threw in to the water at the memorial for him because he will probably never have the opportunity to visit it himself. And to see Gracie and Eva so entranced at the Jefferson Memorial, and I have photos to prove it. I asked Gracie why she was videoing the entire wording, she just said it was some of her favorite quotes.



Girls, I hope you all had a great time. I hope you were able to learn a little, laugh a lot, think a little and grow a lot.



To the Parents:



You should be sooo proud. I was in no way dreading this trip, I just did not know what to expect, or what I had gotten myself into. Please believe me when I say, that I was blown away by your girls this week. Yes, we had the usual and customary, (no you can't, get some paper towels; quick, be quiet and go to sleep, and an occasional was that you?)

But you would be proud to see your girls be able to connect the dots in their minds. You could see the wheels spinning as they saw things that they had heard about and studied about almost come to life in front of their eyes. I heard comments numerous times about "yea I read about this in books but it didn't interest me because it was just words on a page.....now I can put pictures with those words and it means so much more."

Ask them to tell you how many "life lessons" they learned. How to read a subway map, how to flip pancakes, how to work as a team, how to properly dispose of bean dip, and how easy it is to function without a cell phone. (The way we used to do it)

Thank you for letting me get to know your girls better this week. If this happens again in the future, I strongly encourage you to try to participate, you will not regret it.

Lastly Parents, we knew we were tackling a lot for a small amount of time, but my hope is that your daughter has been shown some things that were new to them. We only had time to hit the highlights at most places. Ask you daughter how she feels about returning as a family vacation some day. I bet you will be amazed at the response you get.



Till Later,



MO

This Was Awesome Guys!

Hey guys , its morgan (aka little mo),

I just wanted to say that this trip was awesome!! I was soooooooooooo... excited when we went to Washington D.C. I loved seeing the Linchon memorial, the Vietnam, the WWII, and Korean.
Those were my favorite! I really had a lot of fun at Kings Dominian too. OH!, and the steak at Howards Steak House was exquisite! Yea Eva would get what i mean about that! Anyways,
love you guys and thanks for the awesome trip!

loves ya,
Morgan

Hey guys here are some images from the second day of our trip at King's Dominion.

Hey everyone this is Jennifer. I am sorry this has not been updated as expected, but we have run into limited internet access. The bright side is that they are experiencing things they will never forget. I am so thankful to you parents for letting you child come on this trip. They have been such a big blessing and encouragement. Your girls have the heart of God and don't show signs of letting that falter. Well, we better get going so we will see yall back at home in a few days!

Hey, it’s Nicole and I’m having loads of fun already. We are finally in South Carolina on the road after some unplanned stops along the way! When I first got on the RV, I felt like I wasn’t going to have a lot of fun, but after a while of riding, I’m having second thoughts. Right now it’s raining and looks gloomy outside, but no one’s mood has changed, fortunately!! When we were in Georgia Sarah, Karon, Morgan, and I played a couple of card games and had a couple of laughs. Matt’s being goofy, as usual, but who can blame him for being excited! I know I am!!! The bed in the back is really soft and I almost fell asleep. The adults said it will be another hour before we get to where we’re going, but I don’t think that’s possible with all the traffic. Before we left the last stop we played a game called “Apple to Apple” and it was a lot of fun because it’s a humor game and I loved it. My personality, I found out, is unbelievable and trustworthy. I just want to tell my mom and Earl how much I miss them and Scott, too, I guess, just kidding. And that I wish they could have come with us. Well, I thought I had more to talk about, but I don’t. I might have more the next time I’m on, but for now it’s goodbye.
Nicole

Hey this is Karon. We are almost there it has been a very long trip a belt broke so we had to stop for 2hrs. but we made the best of it. I am not so happy about the rain it is not raining tomorrow. I have got to sleep (MOST) all the way. I got a little car sick before at the very beginning. I love being with all these people but it would not hurt to see my family I love ya’ll I will call ya’ll everyday most of the time 2 times a day if that is okay…… Well we are bout to go so see you in 4days and 4 nits love you bunches
Karon.


Hey all you people back in Albany this is Gracie. As I write this, we are about 5 minutes away from entering Santee State Park. We were supposed to have hot dogs and hamburgers, but due to the time loss we had with fixing the RV engine, we have to make a quick-and-easy meal of tacos. We are like 2 to 3 hours behind, but that’s alright. Jen just pointed out an amazing sunset…and now it’s gone. God is so cool. Tomorrow we will get up nice and early to head on for Virginia, and Kings Dominion. I know I will not be able to go to sleep for a long, long time tonight, so tomorrow I will resume my schedule like today of sleeping the whole way to our destination. I think it’s pretty funny that I had some of my best sleep in the back of a moving RV for 3 hours.
Gracie

We broke what?

So we began this journey with great hopes and many plans...Oh how things change quickly! Last night as Mo and I were working on finishing loading up, we got ready to leave and the steps would not retract...So Mo and I looked in the manual (what a surprise for men right....) and found nothing! The places that they said existed don't exist at least according to us! There is no battery disconnect compartment! AUGH!!! So we called the owner and he scheduled a visit with Mid-State RV in Byron, GA. So we added a "scheduled" stop to our journey across country and luckily it only took 3o minutes in Byrona nd then we were back on the road!!! WOOO HOOO!

So, we're on our way right? We were for awhile and then we hit a storm that slowed everything down and then while Mo's driving he says, "Hey Matt, there's light on up here!" and it's the "Check Engine Light!" and "look now there's another one, and it says the engine's overheating..." Cool, no really cool! We stopped behind a police officer and looked at the engine to see what was wrong and then ran back to the coach because it was raining CATS and DOGS! We drove a little further and stopped again, and decided to try and limp to the nearest exit... Now I've heard it said that coincidences increase as prayer increases, so whoever was praying, THANKS! The exit that we got off at had a "Pilot" truckstop. We found out then that we had broken a belt and it was causing us to overheat! So I talked to the service center and they suggested that we go across the street...Now if you're like me you're thinking that he was blowing us off to save him time...but actually he sent us to a "Freightliner" service center. Guess who made the RV we're in...that's right Freightliner! So we drove across the street and found out that they have a belt and can fix it.

So, we're a little behind schedule getting to SC but we're safe and everyone has a GREAT ATTITUDE! They're all palying and having a good time!

GOTTA LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER...AND THEN FALLS APART...AND THEN COMES BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!!!

Blog at you later!

Matt

the day before we leave!!!

hey guys!!! this is eva! just want to say that i cannot wait till the trip tomorrow! i look forward to growing closer to each and everyone of you. i hope we can connect in our own way and share a bond that is stronger than anything. id also like to say that if anyone of you ever need help with something im always there for you and u can tell me anything and it will stay between you and me. i luv you all and will see you tomorrow!!!

luv always,
Eva Marie

Hebrews 13:2-3
"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

I was trying to think of something that I could say before this Road Rules trip that might go in accordance with what to expect. As I was reading this morning, I ran across this passage in Hebrews that has stuck with me ever since I was a little girl. The phrase "entertained angels without knowing it" has always intrigued me and made everyday life a little more interesting. Think about it. How many strangers do you encounter everyday? Even if you are just going to the grocery store. Any one of those people could be what we don't expect.

As we get ready for this trip, I just want us to be aware of how many people we will encounter. How many more people could we help improve their day if we treated them as though they were angels. It is much better than what the world will have to offer them on a day to day basis. Take every moment as though it were a gift from God to do what he could call his angels to do. So today and as we go on this trip, be kind to someone and sacrifice your convience to make it easier for someone else for they may not be who you expect. We all have our secrets.

Genesis 28:14-17
"When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.' He was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.' Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, [house of God]...."

This story is one of those oldies, but goodies. Jacob has set out on a journey and has stop to rest for the night. When he rests, God reveals a covenant for Jacob's future by sending ascending and descending angels next to him. Prior to resting, Jacob awakes and finds that he has been changed by the mysterious prescence of the Lord. He then goes on to name this place Bethel.

I love this story because it gives us all hope that when we pray, grieve, rejoice there is a Bethel in our precence with angels ascending and descending carrying our requests and lessons back and forth. This place was somewhere for Jacob that he knew God resided with him. God revealed a new obvious truth to me this morning and that is our Bethel today is in our hearts. God's mysterious prescence is inside us. Thanks to Jesus' promise of a gift we have been able to have this privilege. This Bethel is constant and precious in everyday of life that God chooses to give us.

You will never run dry or become empty because your heart has angels ascending and descending in it carrying your love, hopes, worries, triumphs, and failures to the one who cares the most.

1 Thessalonians 2:8
"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."

I was thinking about time this morning. In eastern cultures, such as China, a lifetime is viewed very differently from our American idea of a lifetime. So often, we look at our lives in relation to a line. We look at the past and use the excuse of whatever happened wasn't our choice. Then, we look at the future as somthing that doesn't exist because it hasn't happened yet. So that leaves us locked into the here and now and creates the "live in the moment" culture. The present is something we use to justify life and why we do what we do.

In eastern cultures, they view a lifetime as something that is interrelated. Eastern cultures, such as, China are known for seeking advice and guidance from their ancestors. Most of us have run into an example of this in the Disney movie Mulan. In this movie a girl has a dragon that is supposed to guide her in her choices for the future. The Chinese look in their past to see what events or people made them who they are in the present and use what ever their past was to make decisions in the future.

In the passage above we are told that the Paul was using his story to encourage and teach those in Thessalonica. I think that because we live in a "live in the moment" culture we forget the importance of our past and the power that it has to reach a world that is seeking for something more out of life despite of who they are. Jews in Jesus time were reminded constantly of where they come from to influence them to make healthy moral decisions for their current life. It is not a new thing to apply the past to life decisions. I think the eastern cultures have the right idea in that we need to embrace all of time to be able to become all that we are intended to be so that we can show all the world their purpose.