Brownies with a little surprise

Attempted to make goodies for my D-Group girls last night at home. First of all, must give props to my friend Karla for the recipe idea. She made these wonderful little delights Sunday for our football watching extravaganza. Thought I would attempt to make them myself because they changed my life.

Explanation: Brownies made in little muffin pans with a little bit of heaven in the middle. (i.e. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups)

First batch: Amazing taste...not so pretty. Overfilled the pan and they all looked like mushrooms. As I went to get them out of the pan, the tops popped off. Grrr!

Second batch: "Let's use baking cups and not fill them so full." Amazing taste again, but this time much better looking! Thank the Lord! :)

For those of you Weight Watcher People...this is not a recipe I would recommend. My apologies!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

This is a little chance to brag on my friends from Kentucky. This was taken yesterday at the Broncos vs. Steelers football watching bash...if you can't tell, most of them are Broncos fans...and then there's SteveO and I staying strong with our Steelers colors! These people are great!!
Front row: Amanda(from IL), Madonna (from IL) Middle row: John O, Karla(from IL), Steve, Tammy
Back row: Kevin, me(from IL) and Nate(from IL)
*Notice how 5 of the 9 are from IL and it took moving to Kentucky for all of us to meet. Funny!

First Snow

Woke up to 3 inches of snow on the ground this morning...incredible!
Didn't think I wanted it after the gorgeous spring weather we've been having, but I'll take it:)
Hopefully, all you snow lovers out there aren't jealous. It is b-e-a-utiful!! Come to Kentucky and see if you want!

PS - just found out that if you start your car to warm it up and leave it unattended in Louisville, you get a TICKET!! Even in your own driveway! What is this world coming to?

Drama, Drama, Drama...

Oh the dramas of the dating life...
Will it ever end?
Recently a book was recommended to me to read about a new approach to dating. It is a book by Dr. Henry Cloud (a reliable and intelligent source). He wrote all the "Boundaries" books for those who've never heard of him. How to Get a Date Worth Keeping - Be Dating in Six Months or Your Money Back. I know the title sounds cheesy, but hang with me. I've read a couple chapters in it so far...intriguing. Really nothing new. My mom has been telling me to do this for as long as I can remember, but I've stuck to my "I'm a lady in waiting" mentality. For instance, if God has the right man out there...He will bring him to me. Well, this knight in shining armor has yet to find me and lately I've found myself waiting at my front door hoping the FedEx man will be gorgeous. You get what I'm saying?? Cloud says, "I haven't been "out there" enough meeting new people." In his book, he offers himself as a dating coach, and has a program for you to follow. One of the first steps is to meet 5 new guys a week...that's right 5!! And not just say hi, but they 1) have to be new to you. 2)have to be interested in you. 3) you have to exchange phone #s. And let me just say it again. 5 guys! I'm lucky if I get 5 guys in 5 years, let alone 5 guys in one week. Talk about it! Supposedly, this program teaches you to find your real issues with dating and help you conquer them. Helping you to come out of your shell. We'll see about that! So, this past week I tried to branch out and meet some new people at Awake(our 23-30 yr. olds gathering)...not so much a success. I'm horrible at it! Still deciding if I'm going to finish this book.
For those of you who have found your special someone for life...what a blessing!
For those still waiting/hunting...bet you are wishing it were as easy as waiting for the FedEx man at this point in time....hang in there!! :)

The Cat's Out of the Bag

It was a monumental day in Southeast history...

We heard about it Thursday. The announcement was made to the staff, but our lips were sealed. It was exciting beyond words to have been a part of that staff meeting. I sat there as Bob Russell addressed all of us. And this weekend...the rest of the congregation heard. Bob handed over the reigns to Dave Stone in services this weekend. In a sense he "passed the baton...or the tie" for that matter. Bob's official retirement won't happen until July of this year, but from here on out, Dave Stone is now the "prime" minister of SECC. It was a bitter sweet moment. I watched as Bob made his announcement in 3rd service and as he walked down the steps to his seat...it was sad. The man has been God's vessel in building this church for the last 40 years. His fingerprints are all over this place. He will be missed.

But oh the excitement I felt as I watched my friend Dave walk up to the pulpit and address the congregation. I've never before been so 100% behind a leader like this before. I've heard his vision for the future and I believe it is definitely God-ordained and that it will connect thousands more to Jesus Christ in the near future. Oooo...gives me goosebumps.

The basic idea to his vision is...

• Subtraction
• Addition
• Division
• Multiplication

Subtraction - 1. From our Membership Roll. Finding out whose really committed to Jesus and to evangelizing the community. 2. From our Programming. Getting away from the Smorgesboard approach and focusing more on certain areas.

Addition - 1. Using intentional language. Connecting People to Jesus and to One Another. 2. Having an Intentional Pathway. Teaching us the Value of Focus.

Division - 1. Dividing into Regions for Bible Study and Service. Connecting with people in your area through home Bible Study groups and service opportunities. Teaching us the value of connecting.

Multiplication - 1. Regional Small Groups. 2. Neighborhood Community Centers with numerous outreach programs. 3. Multi-site Worship Settings. A branch off of the main campus using live via satellite communications, so we could experience worship together and the multi-site centers could still feel connected to the body.

I was pumped about his vision. I know it will be supported. A few standing ovations are an indication of that. Pray for Dave, pray for the leadership, pray for the staff, pray for the congregation. This place is used to change, but this is the biggest change this place has ever seen. We are having to say goodbye to a living legend, but what we are about to experience is the 2nd Movement of His Orchestral Masterpiece....and it's just beginning. Maybe a change of tempo, maybe a change in key, but amazing nevertheless. Taking a moment to sit back and listen...

Routine...What's That?

First day back to work in over a week. Took a Christmas vacation and went home to Quincy for the Holidays. Great trip, but WAY too quick! Here are some highlights...

1. Kazoo Caroling with the Nobis Clan.
2. Shopping with Mom for Christmas presents.
3. Spending Christmas Eve with the family that just keeps growing!
4. Enjoying 3 Christmas services (2 at MPCC and 1 at the Crossing).
5. The smile I had on my face as I watched some pretty special people lead a congregation in worship Sunday morning. Just made my heart bubble over with joy to see them in their element again...love them. The Christmas Carols rocked and "it's not about the box" (2 of the many things I took home from that service).
6. Having more presents than John to open up Christmas day :) (Only because he got a pretty expensive drill - not because mom and dad love me more...at least that's what we told him!!) hehe
7. Watching the "scarf receivers" open up their gifts and enjoy (or at least acting like they were thankful). A lot of work(probably the beginning of long road of arthritis)...alot of hours...alot of great scarves I wish I could have kept cause I liked em so much.
8. Listening to the countless times John made fun of my scarves and realizing that he was just jealous cause he didn't get one!
9. Spending almost every day of last week at John and Sha's new place painting their front room. Hearing their ideas about what they're going to do with the rest of it and experiencing the excitement of it all. Must admit I'm a little jealous that he was the first of the Mitchell kids to buy a house.
10. Meeting Bobo!
11. Spending an evening in Macomb watching high school basketball and then eating the most delicious pizza thingy afterwards...mmmm.
12. Taking a pit-stop on the way back to Kentucky to meet Karla's family in Centralia IL! They have an incredible Walgreens:)
13. Having funny conversations with my buddy Ben - who will always be the one I call for a quick cheering up session!
14. Seeing and spending some QT with buddy Neal and hearing about his upcoming adventures at The Crossing....so proud of him.
15. All the special moments spent at home around our 4 ft. Christmas tree this year:) Just kidding mom! It was all great and I love ya!
16. And last but not least...sleeping in my Heavenly Cloud of a Bed for an entire week!!!