YWAM - San Francisco

Well, in 2 short days I am heading out with a group of 35 from church, 28 students and 7 adults, to head to YWAM - San Francisco. This is a trip Nate has taken twice in the past, and I am SO excited to be going for my first time. There are many prayer requests for this trip, but I would like to share a few. Please pray for the team, pray that there is unity in the team, that students who may be a part of the same youth group but have never talked, would find connection! Please pray for confidence in sharing God's Hope with those that seem hopeless. Please pray for them to look past the external of these that live on the streets, and see their heart and their hurts, and help them fell valued. Pray for health and safety of the team, with a group this size some traveling by plane for the first time, exposed to lots of new germs, health is a concern.

I will be updating the blog as often as I can. It may just be a photo, or it may be a short story, but I would appreciate your prayers through the week!

You can also follow me on Twitter at @millsfamily, as I'm sure I'll be updating that as well!

September

Another month has flown by!! Here are a few photos of our September.

Drew started Football. His team, along with the other WYFF teams, got to be a part of the Homecoming Parade! Dew had a lot of fun with his buddies!

Toby is playing soccer! He's been wanting to do it for months, so I finally was able to sign him up for a Coach Chico clinic. He's had his first week and he is loving it!

As usual, Taylor is still playing soccer. She is on the Wooster Edge team this season, but is working hard to get back on the OSU team next year.
Taylor had the opportunity to sing with the Middle School Ministries (MSM) worship band. She did very well, and hopes to do this more often!
And it wouldn't be September without the Wayne County Fair. We spent most of our time this year waiting in lines for rides. I guess that's what happens as the kids get older! They had a great time. They all three road the scrambler, and we couldn't see Toby, but we could hear him. We couldn't tell if he was screaming in fear or excitement. As it turns out it was EXCITEMENT!! He road this 3 times!



Now onto Fall!! What a beautiful time! More Football and Soccer, Drew's birthday and of course trick or treating. Sadly there will be no photos from the Secrest Arboretum this year, as the Tornado wiped it out! I'm sure we will find somewhere to take a nice fall hike!

God is Good!

Taylor's final VBS!!

This was Taylor's final VBS! In a way it was sad, but mostly, I'm just excited about what is ahead for her. Here is a video of her final VBS performance!!



And though I tried to upload Drew's it was giving me problems. For his sake, I will keep trying and hopefully get it up again soon.

Toby was able to sing two songs. While they are very redundent, it is fun to watch the kids!



This one cracked me up, how the teacher kept pulling him up and pushing him down!! Too funny!



God is Good!

Pray for these folks

A group from Wooster Grace recently hit the air headed to Asia, specifically Cambodia, with a trip to Thailand. Please pray for them if you feel so led. I know they would appreciate it. Several of our Pastors are on this trip, and many dear friends!

You can follow their trip by clicking HERE.

What we do for our girl!

Well, Taylor has really ruled the house this past weekend! She was at Beyond camp last week, which she LOVED! I however, am wondering what happened to the little girl I sent off! I know she was behind on sleep, but boy was she grumpy when I had to pick her up early. She had practice for Ohio Light Opera Friday afternoon, so I had to pick her up from camp a day early. She wanted me to take her back after she was done with rehearsal and I said no, so I was the meanest mom ever!! Which I'm okay with :)

Then Beginning Saturday morning it was a mad dash of running Taylor around. She had OLO Rehearsal, to Avon Lake for a Soccer game, then rush back for another OLO rehearsal with a few graduation parties in between! Sunday morning, we were up early, heading to Avon Lake for a game, rush back to Wooster for a costume fitting (which they cancelled and didn't tell us) and back to Avon Lake for the Championship game, and back to Wooster for Dress Rehearsal!! It was literally head spinning, but we made it! Below is a photo of Taylor with her tournament trophy, before I grabbed her by the arm and we ran for the van! They got 2nd place, which is a HUGE accomplishment. The girls worked hard, but I believe they coulda had 1st place! It was a great game!
So VBS starts up next week and my amazing Sister-in-Law (I do love her) has talked me into teaching. I SWORE I would never do that again. If you've been to our VBS, you understand it is a HUGE undertaking. I am always more than willing to volunteer as a helper, or craft person, but teaching is way too much! Luckily I'm paired with some amazing people and they understand my crazy schedule and have been a huge help! Taylor has her opening performance on Tuesday afternoon. I can not wait to see her in this performance. I'm sure she'll do an amazing job! I hope to get some pictures!

So we have another busy week ahead, but at least it will all be in Wooster!

God is Good!

Moving Up to Junior High!

Time, where does it go and how can I stop it? Taylor is crossing a mile marker this summer that always just seemed so far away! She is leaving elementary school life behind and moving up into Junior High! There have been many events these last few weeks, and this is the one that kicked it all off! She had a "Moving Up" party with her sixth grade class from her elementary school! They rented a bowling alley, had pizza and pop and just an overall good time. Taylor had to leave early for Ohio Light Opera rehearsal, but luckily, they were right across the street! So here are a few photos with the kids she's called her classmates for 7 years!


One of her BFF's posing for a photo. Luckily, they are both in OLO this summer so they will have lots of good times ahead!
I was too busy talking with the other moms and didn't get a lot of photos, but here is one of Taylor after what I guess was a lousy toss of the bowling ball!

The Sunday following this party was also her first weekend in the Junior High Youth Group at church. She is now a MSM'er! Her first question "When are band tryouts?" She is also going to Jr. High camp this summer, which will be a lot of fun. We had to forgo the Mission trip because there are two OLO plays that week and Momma can't do that much running. I feel bad for her, but we do the best we can, right! I'm sure camp will be just as fun!

God is Good

Grace Kids Camp

I finally got to attend and lead at Taylor's Kids Camp for her final year attending! This is something I've wanted to do for a few years, but for one reason or another it hasn't worked out. This year, God's timing was perfect as always and it was just what we needed!! Taylor came home from a very rough day at school, and heading off to this camp, with like minded friends and a focus on God and His purpose for her life, was just what she needed!! Here are a few pictures from her FINAL Kids camp (but don't worry, between Drew and Toby we potentially have 8 more years of it).

Some games kicked off our time at Pleasant Valley Ranch. Here we play a hula hoop game.

And a toilet paper game, trying to keep the square of TP in the air with just their breath! They did a great job!
Then, that night, Taylor helped kick off the evening session by sharing her testimony with the other students. I can not put into words how proud I was of her, and her maturity in Christ! What a blessing she is. Aunt Mer got to be the one to interview her! Which also made it special!
Here is a photo of all the girls in our cabin! There were 44 students attending this year!
A little time out in the wilderness on a wonderful scavenger hunt, a favorite of many of the campers.
And of course singing some of Mr. Randy's songs always make for a fun time!

We had to leave early, right after lunch, to get back in town in time for a soccer game. Taylor was disappointed about that, but had a wonderful time at camp!

I'm NOT looking forward to what is next, Jr High Missions Trips!! UGH!!

God is Good!

Easter

Oh, Happy Day, Happy Day... You Washed My Sin Away! Oh Happy Day, Happy Day... I'll never be the same! Oh, what a glorious day, what a glorious way... that YOU HAVE SAVED ME!

We had a wonderful Easter Service this morning at Wooster Grace! I enjoyed having two of my three kids with me in the service as well! Before we went in, we stopped for a photo in front of Kaleb's tree at the church! I took several, and this is the best one I got!

After the service, the kids and I headed over to my parents for a little while, since Nate had to stay and play for the second service. We knew we would be eating at Nate's parents house, so I let the kids just "snack" on some of their goodies from Aunt Katy. The poor peeps, this is what Toby did to his...
Then we headed over to Nate's parents house for lunch, and our annual Easter Egg hunt! Over 300 eggs for 8 kids is a bit crazy, but they all enjoyed it!



God is Good!

Kalahari!!!

Another great year of Kalahari in the books. Keep an eye on the Kalahari Retreat website for updates and some AMAZING videos!

Here are a few photos of the weekend! (our camera is broken, so these were taken with the cell phone, sorry for the poor quality) We were challenged by D.C. Curry to give God our dreams along with all we have to offer and see what HE will do with it!

Had a great group of girls in my room for the weekend. Here are a few of them getting ready to enjoy the Worship set and the next message from D.C Curry...


Special Guest for the weekend John Reuben..... YES!!!


And Exodus Band encouraged our students before each session in a time of musical worship!


God is Good!

Praying for Haiti

Praying for Haiti, a time when words do not come, but God knows the needs.

Pray for

(click on the links for website and further details)

High school friends that are there on Mission trip

Hands and Feet orphanage

Gods Littlest Angels Orphanage

among so many others...

I just can't help but think that God is going to use this in amazing ways. Haiti is such a hurting country, with poverty we in the US could never imagine. Now they literally have NOTHING. I pray that THE CHURCH can have a presence that can not be ignored and that they can rebuild into a country that it's citizens can be proud of and that will flourish. Accounts say that over 100,000 likely dead, possibly lots more. How do you fathom that. And a country where there are already so many orphaned children due to poverty, now add to that the number of orphaned children due to truly being orphaned as their parents or care takers are now dead and my mind can't wrap around it.

Just don't know what to think or say, but cry out to God for His great work!

Toby on Stage

Toby had his first chance at singing with the Little Praisers the past week. He sang in the Contemporary service last week, and this week they sang in the Traditional service. I have video, but it is on the camcorder and it takes a little while to get it off, so I will add to this post later, but for now, here are a few photos!



God is Good!

Christmas Program

Well, let the season begin!! This past weekend Taylor and Drew were part of our church's Christmas musical, "First Christmas". Drew was in the choir as was Taylor. Here's a sampling of their opening song.




And Taylor also had a solo. What is ironic about this song, is with having lost Kaleb, we often wonder what Christmas is like for him and our other children in Heaven. What a precious song, and to have Taylor sing it so beautifully... well yeah, tears flowing from this momma!!



Toby got to sing in big church on Sunday, but my video isn't real close. He is singing again next week so I will try and get a better video and get it loaded. Also this week, Taylor is singing for the school program! I will likely share that as well.

I've had a day beyond words of frustration, but sitting here and taking a few moments to look at these videos of my children again, makes it all melt away! There is nothing in life as important and precious as these gifts God has given us!

God is Good!

Thankful For..

I have so much to be thankful for, and I try to live my life every day thanking God for all that we have. But on this Thanksgiving, I thought I would reflect on some of the things I am thankful for, and they are in no particular order...

- I am thankful for my family, for my husband who has been my best friend for 18 years, and my three children that I adore!
- I am thankful for the health of my family, while we all have our aches and pains, and our minor concerns, we are all here, and none of us are battling a life changing illness.
- I am thankful for the roof over my head. Often times I grump and groan about problems around the house or how I wish our house looked like this or that. But when I lay my head down at night, I am thankful beyond words to have a warm bed and a dry place to sleep.
- I am thankful for a young woman in Korea, that 4 1/2 years ago found herself in a very desperate situation, and rather than think about only herself, she thought about the little baby she was carrying and the life that he could have. I'm thankful for Toby's birthmom!
- I am thankful for my job. As much as I may complain, and wish I could be doing other things (like being at home with my children), I have a job that is about as perfect as it can be for our family!
- I am thankful for my husbands job. That he has a stable, rather secure job, with a God Honoring company.
- I am thankful for our church family, for our Pastors and other members of our church that are always there when we need them, whether it be a simple smile and handshake, or prayer for a situation.
- I am thankful for our Small Group. We love the Cleveland's, Artrip's and Carter's. They have become a support system for us we didn't know we needed!
- I am thankful for our involvement in Senior High Ministries. What a blessing that has been to us and our family. To see God work through the lives of High School Students!
- I am thankful that I have 40 pounds to loose! Not that I'm happy about that, but I am thankful, because that means I don't have to worry about going without food, and neither do my husband or children.
- I am thankful for my parents, who often times I wondered why they were sticking it out together, but now, as a mom and a wife, I see the true love and commitment (through good times and bad) they had for each other, and I see the way God is blessing them during this time of "empty nest". What an example that has been for me.
- I am thankful for my Mother-in-Law, who even when her first marriage didn't work out, she made a wonderful life for her sons, and showed them what it means to be a family, no matter how the family is formed! What a blessing that has been for us!
- I am thankful for the many men and women who serve so sacrificially that I may have peace, comfort and freedom. I am thankful for the family members of our military that spend so much time away from their loved ones, for my benefit.
- I am thankful that I live in a country where I am free to worship my Creator!
- I am thankful that by the Grace of God, I am forgiven. I can live each day new, knowing that the mistakes I have made are washed away, as far as the East is from the West. That God loves me and he cherishes me, and of all the people that love me on earth, nothing can compare to His Love!

The list could go on and on, and I'm sure as the day goes on and we reflect, I will come up with many more. But it is time to go and be thankful for turkey and stuffing! God Bless you all. I pray you take the time to make a Thankful list this Thanksgiving day!

God is Good

Student Ministry

What it means to me to be involved with Students

A Different Kind of Hero from Wooster Grace Students on Vimeo.

ROCK SOLID!!!

Another wonderful performance by the Wooster Grace Brethren Church Children's Choir! Today they performed "Rock Solid" after many months of practice! Once again, we were not disappointed. There are so many talented children in our church! It is always exciting to see from one year to the next which kids have gotten to the point where they feel comfortable singing solos. Drew said he wanted to try-out this year, but ended up not doing so. Maybe he'll be ready next year! I look forward to next year with great excitement and great sadness. It will be the only year we have all three of the kids in the choir, but it will also be Taylor's last year! :'(

Here are a few photos and videos from the program!

Taylor was in the "Stomp Band". She was the only girl. There were seven boys, and Taylor! Not sure what to think of that :)

Here is Drew getting into the song!

A video of Taylor singing her Solo! I don't see how Ohio Light Opera could turn her down (yes we are still waiting... UGH) Of course I'm just the Momma! (and that is Toby in the background saying "I saw my Tay Tay")

And here is a video of Drew during the final song. He was really enjoying himself!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post!! It's a big day in the Mills' House!

God is Good!

The Shack

Have you read it?

It's all the buzz!

I had heard from different sources that it was the book to read, at work, at church, friends, etc. So I was chatting with Nate's Aunt Teresa about it and she mentioned that she had the book and wanted to read it as well. That was at Thanksgiving. Well, over Christmas Break, she got the book to me to read. What great timing. Things at work were VERY slow, as in I was the only one in the office, and who thinks a school office is open over Christmas break? So I had plenty of time to read!

I read The Shack in about a day and a half! I could not put it down. I have talked to several people since who are in process of reading it and have been putt off by the beginning of the book... if you are one of those, let me encourage you to KEEP READING!! It is so worth it.

So here's the overview...(From the back of the book)

"Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in teh Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!"

I'd love to hear from you if you've read it... I'll post some excerpts and personal reflection in the coming days...

God is Good

Tis the Season

Well, the Holiday Season is upon us!! I say that with unsure feelings... I LOVE Christmas... it is my absolute favorite Holiday. When I was younger (and maybe not so young) it was all about getting stuff! I loved getting presents... but now, it's all changed. Yeah, I like a nice gift or two... who doesn't... but that is not why Christmas is my favorite Holiday. I am so moved by the fact that God, who created earth and let us destroy all that was good about it, would humble himself and come here in the form of man, Jesus, to serve. What does that leave me to do? Want more gifts? Be the Grinch when things don't go my way? No, I am reminded that I am to Serve!

But... there are days... let me tell you!!! I love to make people happy. I love to do things for people. I love to give things to people. But I am learning I can't be all things to all people all the time. Especially now that I am working. That just doesn't leave much room for God to work, does it? So this Christmas is going to be a little different around our house. The kids already know that there won't be as many presents, and they are fine with that. It is amazing to me, but they are perfectly happy. Taylor even said to me "Mom, even though there may not be a lot of presents, I have a feeling this is going to be the best Christmas ever!" Wow! I just hope she's still saying that on Christmas Morning :)

But to keep the "holiday" spirit alive, we once again pose for the wonderful Christmas photo. Now, I know many of you may be getting our wonderful card (hopefully by weeks end), but I thought I would throw out some of the photo outtakes!

I had this great idea of taking the kids photos at Church after the concert tonight... this is some of what I got...

Toby is Bored, Drew is mad, and Taylor can't believe her brothers won't cooperate, it's a photo op after all!
Then there's this one...Taylor is bossing, Drew is still mad, and Toby's having fun all by himself!

So they weren't working out at church, so we decided to try again at home, with the usual by the Christmas tree. All I said was "Taylor and Drew, stay still and we'll eventually get a good one of Toby!" So here is the good one of Toby! Yeah, that really worked! I guess Drew had to see for himself!

And for your viewing pleasure, a clip from tonight's program. Drew is on the bottom right, usually the 2nd to last one. And Taylor is on the top left, usually 2nd from the end. It was a wonderful program. The kids did great, as did the adults but they aren't in this clip! Enjoy!

God is Good!

Child Sponsorship

Okay, so this isn't exactly Adoption, but it is very closely related. I am an avid fan and reader of Pioneer Woman. Her husband and two oldest children are currently in the Dominican Republic on a Compassion International trip. The girls were able to visit the girls they sponsor there. Marlboro Man (her husband) has been writing about their trip and today there was a post that had a link to this video!




You can read his comments here, but it is just a reminder of what Faith in Jesus can do for our lives. He comments on meeting one family, that did not understand faith, and they were very down about their circumstances. Then they met this second family, who understand that this world is not all there is, and were Praising God! They lived in the same area, had the same amount of resources for the most part, but were seeing their situations completely differently. Funny how that can be, isn't it!

So, as I post this month about adoption, some of you may be thinking "That's not for me!" If you are one of those people, maybe you should consider child sponsorship. Here are a few links to some great organizations that I would encourage you checking into.

Asia's Hope
This is an amazing organization based in Cambodia and Thailand. The founder is from our church.

Compassion International
We currently sponsor an amazing child from Kenya. It is such a joy to get his updates and photos. We have sponsored him for about 4 or 5 years, and it truly is like he is part of our family.

Hands and Feet Project
I've posted on here about them many times, but this is an orphanage in Haiti started by a few of the guys from Audio Adrenaline. They could really use our help right now as they were recently devastated by Hurricane Ike!

World Vision
While we don't have direct connections to this organization, many of our favorite bands are spokespeople for them!

God is Good!

Cleaning the Throne for the Kingdom!

Well, tonight was Service Project night for my high school small group. We have been meeting since the beginning of school, and this is my first year with this group of girls. They are mostly Freshman and Sophomores, and several of them are homeschooled, which is a new twist for me. Most of these girls I have known for many years, had them in Sunday morning childcare, or taught them in Vacation Bible School! I love doing small group. I learn so much from these girls, while trying to help guide them through a rough time in life... HIGH SCHOOL! I remember those days so well.. and notice I didn't say fondly!

Anyway, as Nate is sitting on the couch next to me studying for school, and I think forward to what God has in store for us in way of Ministry, I look forward to working with High School girls. This is my 3rd year leading a small group, and I learn so much each year.

I posted a while back about the Fall Party at our church for our Grand Opening of the new Student Center. Nate's band played, and Jeremy Kingsley spoke. His topic was about being last. One of his illustrations was about how nasty public bathrooms can be, and about a time when he went in and cleaned a public bathroom. No one knew he did it, but it was a way he could serve those around him, those that would enter that bathroom after him. It really stuck with me. So when it was time for us to do a service project, this was the first thing that came to mind.

At first, my girls were like... No Way! Then they went on to talk about how they would NOT clean the men's bathroom. But the more we talked about it, I think they got a little excited about the opportunity. So tonight, we met at the church, and then headed out one of the Gas Stations in town.

Our first stop, we went in and asked if we could clean the bathrooms and I think the lady asked about 3 times, "Really?" "You want to do what?". She was so surprised. But we got to work, and also cleaned at another Gas station. The girls worked so hard, and realized it wasn't as bad as they thought it was. Here are some photos.

So, did the girls walk away from this understanding all that they did? I'm not sure, but I am proud of them for stepping out of their comfort zone and doing a task that most think is "below them". And they did it with such great attitudes! I'm so excited to see what God has in store for this group this year!

God is Good!

Random Weekend Photos!

Taylor and her violin...

Toby at the Wilderness Center with Aunt Katy

The kids around the tree before it gets axed...
Toby on the stump after the execution...

Drew's soccer team "defending the goal" (or is it the family jewels?)

Drew Scoring a Goal!

Nate playing at the Fall Party for Student Ministries at Grace

Judgment Come!

Drew playing basketball with some strange man.. oh wait.. that's my dad!

God is Good!