Wait a minute...

Movin' on up!

2008-05-13T12:33:00.001-05:00

I've moved! Blogs, that is. Branden and I have a family blog now, so come by and say hi!

I think we're adults now

2008-05-01T12:22:00.001-05:00

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!! Woo hoo!! Branden keeps reminding me that we haven't closed yet and a billion things could happen before then, but I can't help but celebrate! The house is in the Katy area and it is an adorable one-story red brick house in a great neighborhood. Here are some pics:

So we made an offer on Monday morning and by that evening the sellers had accepted! No counter-offers or anything. There was actually another offer on the table as well, but I guess they just liked ours better. (So now Branden keeps saying, "I wonder how much lower we could have gone!") Boys. :) So this morning we had the inspection, and we got a good rating, so things are looking good! If there aren't any hiccups, then we'll close on June 15th! That's the date that the sellers had suggested, and that's actually perfect for us because that gives us six weeks before our apartment lease is up. Enough time to move our stuff at our own pace, and make any updates too (still debating what to do now and what to wait on til later). But wow, let me just say it started to sink in today how much WORK it is going to be owning a house! The inspector kept listing off things that we need to clean or maintain or have serviced regularly. It's a lot! But I'm sure it will be well worth it. :)

House hunting and Something fuzzy

2008-04-21T12:09:00.004-05:00

Gosh, after purusing some of my blog friends, it seems like a lot of people are either gone on or are at least preparing for all of these exotic trips! I must say I am a teensie bit jealous, but there are plenty of things going on in my life here in Houston to pacify me!

One of the main events in my life right now is that Branden and I have finally started our house search! We've been looking at houses online for quite a while, but last Friday we finally took the plunge and spent the day with our realtor visiting a bunch of houses in Katy. It was a lot of fun! If anyone watches HGTV, then you will understand when I say that I fealt like someone on the show House Hunters! You walk into a house and say the generic things like, "Hmm, this is nice", or "That's kinda weird", and then you continue to either "Ooh" and "Aah" or cringe and laugh, depending on the state of the house. I found out that I am easily distracted by pretty wall colors and shiny appliances, but Branden has been good at bringing me back down to earth so I can pay attention to the important things, like the actual house. :) We're not really close to making a decision right now, but we did see some houses we like and there are several more we still want to check out. Yay! :)

Another fun thing that I got to do this weekend was play with my parents' new puppy! Here is a picture of Rocky:

Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen??? He is a three month-old Brussels Griffen (yeah, I've never heard of that breed before either). But he was the sweetest and cuddliest thing I'd ever seen! My parents had gone to San Antonio to pick him up and had just gotten home with him on Saturday evening, so right after church on Sunday Branden and I (well me, mostly) came over to play with him! Gosh I want a puppy now.

I am soooo outta there

2008-03-14T17:09:00.004-05:00

I'm sitting at work after 5 on a Friday afternoon, waiting for a huge file to download on my computer. After ten minutes of watching the status bar creep by, I decided I'd put my time to good use and update my blog! :)

So, I haven't written in a while, but some great things have happened in my life recently! The thing I'm most excited about is that I got a new job!! After several interviews with a few companies, I found a great company in Houston that does Microsoft consulting called Catapult Systems. They only have local clients, so that means no more travelling for yours truly, and not only that, I get to work in an OFFICE again! (Insert Hallelujah chorus!!) When I started working for IBM, I was travelling Monday through Friday, every single week. That was fun for a while, b/c I got to see a lot of cities I wouldn't have normally gone to, but then I got REEEEALLY tired of it, so when I got an opportunity to work from home, I jumped on it. Fast forward a year and a half later, and I was STILL working at home in my t-shirts and fuzzy slippers (nothing Flat Stanley would be interested in, right Jen?) :) Anyway, since my wedding was finally behind me and things were finally slowing down a little, I knew it was time to look for a new job. And God blessed me with a great new job, only a month after I first uploaded my resume to Dice (which is like Monster.com, but for IT jobs.) I love love love not working from home anymore. Granted, I now have to battle it out in traffic like everyone else in Houston, but it's a small price to pay to feel like a part of society again. :)

Masterpiece Theater: My new favorite TV show

2008-01-29T12:49:00.000-06:00

I am a huge Jane Austen fan, and I am so excited because PBS's Masterpiece Theater is running a series on Jane Austen movies on Sunday evenings! I love it because it gives me something fun to look forward to on an otherwise less than exciting time of the week. So far they've shown Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park, and there are still seven weeks to go! So if you don't have plans on Sunday evenings, watch Masterpiece Theater for once! Or if you are busy, record it because you know you will want to watch it later! :)

Getting unstuck

2008-01-21T21:06:00.000-06:00

For a long time now I've considered making some changes in my life, professionally speaking. I've been entertaining these ideas for months and months and months, but since my life has been so busy with the wedding, and moving, etc, I have put it on the back burner for the most part. I'm finally taking some small steps towards my future goal, which is a relief, but I know I need to keep going and continue taking more and more steps. I remember reading this article from Boundless a while back, but I just found it again and it has really reaffirmed to me the importance of pursuing my dreams, and that the consequences of ignoring them can be very damaging indeed. Maybe it will give you some encouragement too. :)

Here's a quote to get you interested:
“If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don’t do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself. You hurt your children, you hurt me, you hurt the planet,” Pressfield writes. “You shame the angels who watch over you and you spite God Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter further along its path back to God.”

I heart my slow cooker

2008-01-17T12:42:00.000-06:00

Slow cookers are the best invention ever (besides air conditioning), especially when you have to work during the day and want something ready to eat when you get home. I just tried this recipe a few days ago and it is delicious! It's pretty easy to make, so I had to share it:

PIZZA BEANS

16-oz can pinto beans
16-oz can kidney beans
2.25-oz can ripe olives sliced, drained (I actually prefer it w/out olives)
28-oz can stewed or whole tomatoes
3/4 lb bulk Italian sausage
1 tbsp oil
1 green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
Parmesan cheese

1. Combine beans, olives, and tomatoes in slow cooker
2. Brown sausage in oil in skillet. Drain, reserve drippings. Transfer sausage to slow cooker.
3. Saute green pepper in drippings 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add onions and continue stirring until onions start to become translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute. Transfer to slow cooker.
4. Stir in seasonings.
5. Cover. Cook on low 7-9 hours.
6. To serve, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Makes 6 servings, unless you're married to Branden, in which case it only makes 4 servings :)

Christmas scrapbook

2008-01-03T12:30:00.000-06:00

I am very excited about what I just bought online yesterday. It's a Christmas Memories book, and it holds TWENTY YEARS worth of journal entries about your family's Christmases! How cool is that? One of the teachers of our Newlywed's sunday school class recommended it, and I couldn't resist. I can't wait till it gets here so I can fill out this year's entry and include some pictures! (Gosh, I'm girly.)

Branden and I had a great Christmas with both of our families, and yes it was a blessing to be able to spend time with both (well, all three I guess) sets of parents. I'm sure it won't always be this easy, having everyone close by, so I'm going to appreciate it while I can! I was discussing this with my dear friend Missy the other day, and we both agree that our priorities have shifted dramatically in the last few years. We now care so much more about spending time with our loved ones and not so much about the material things we get to open Christmas morning. It brings so much more joy to my heart to be with my dear parents and grandmother (and husband, of course!). Don't get me wrong, I'll always enjoy getting a good present! But I can see now more than ever where my heart is.

Thoughts on married life

2007-11-05T13:03:00.000-06:00

I was thinking about all the advice that Branden and I have been getting about being married... The thing that strikes me the most is that some people seem to love warning us that we are going to have some knock-down, drag-out fights, and that this is normal and we shouldn't be worried if it happens. This advice is usually followed by lots of joking and laughter, but I've got to assume that they're somewhat serious. Now, I'm not so naive as to think that Branden and I will never have disagreements, but really people? This is the advice I'm getting from fellow Christians? I think that as Christians we should live above the bar, our marriages should be a testimony to the world about what God's love looks like. How can that work if we look and act like the rest of the marriages in the world? I say, let's show the world how happy we can be, how in-love, how silly, how flirtatious, how fun, how sacrificial, how serving we can be in our marriages!

In other news... married life is awesome! But gosh it’s time consuming. I thought I didn't have much free time when I was single, I had no idea! But I can't complain, the time I spend with Branden, even if it's while I'm cooking and he's washing dishes, is still a blessing! :) We’re getting into a routine… We go to our couples bible study on Mondays (which is awesome!), we work out together in the mornings twice a week, we eat dinner together, we watch Heros and the Office, hehe, and we still go out on dates sometimes, too. (Big plus!) We’ve also been going to my parents around once a week, because I’ve been a little homesick (who’da thought?) and Branden has been very supportive of that too. All in all, things are good. :) But don't think this is an excuse to not call us anymore to hang out, though! We still want to spend time with our friends too!!

See you soon

2007-10-03T12:25:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,

So things are going okay with my family. Branden and I went to Dallas with my parents last weekend to visit my cousin and aunt and uncle. They're doing alright... some days are easier than others for them, I think. It's given their family and my family a strange bond; both of us losing the youngest sibling in the family, almost when they were the exact same age. Very strange; I have no idea why God works the way he does sometimes. But I do know that God is good. And all-knowing and all-powerful. It was in his plan for Billy to join him in heaven. We don't like it, but we have faith in God, that he knows what he's doing. And we have faith in our salvation, and that we will see Billy (and Erin, too) soon and spend eternity with them in heaven. What a great thing to look forward to!

On a lighter note, Branden and I are doing great as newlyweds! It has been a little hectic, trying to "fluff" up our nest, unpack presents, get things organized, unpack all of MY stuff (and I have a lot of stuff!), but it has been fun! I'm having to remember how to cook, since I haven't done it much in a few years, but I'm really enjoying it (except for my crockpot, my arch nemesis!). I really like being a wife. And Branden is a wonderful husband. We've been getting up early to work out before work; I like having a workout buddy. :) We started our newlywed bible study Monday night with a few other couples from HFBC. I think I'm going to like it! We're studying James. I think we're going to have some really interesting discussions. Plus Branden did another study on James before, so he'll really be able to contribute to the discussion, and ask some difficult questions to get the pot stirred. :)

New band I'm enjoying: Cary Brothers, especially the song "Ride". Check them out: http://www.myspace.com/carybrothers

More later!
-Liz

Prayer request

2007-09-24T21:33:00.000-05:00

Hi all! I'm married and back from our honeymoon! Cancun was amazing and thanks to God's grace we only had one day of rain. The wedding was wonderful and a big thanks to everyone who was there to support us. Branden and I are settled in our apartment. It looks like a tornado hit :) but we're slowly starting to unpack and get situated. I love being married! Branden is wonderful and he makes being his wife very easy.

I wanted to ask all of you to pray for my family right now. Branden and I got back to the U.S. last night to find out that my younger cousin Billy died last week from a heart problem. He was only fifteen, and obviously this is a huge blow to our family, and all too familiar a feeling for us, since we lost my sister back in 2001. It's been hard for me, because we weren't there for any of it, and we missed the funeral. I guess God wanted us to enjoy our honeymoon, which I'm grateful for of course, but it really stinks that we weren't there with the fam. But one thing that I think is really cool is that Billy was with all of our family last weekend for our wedding, so God gave us all a good last weekend to spend with him before he left us. And Billy even told Branden and me "goodbye" as we were hopping into the limo to leave. It's really neat to know that God provides little things like that to comfort us. We're also comforted in the fact that Billy was (is) a Christian, and is now in heaven with Jesus, and we know that we will be reunited with him again soon. Please pray for my family, specifically my Aunt Karon, Uncle Bill, and my cousin Angela. We're all doing okay, but we definitely need lots of prayer.

Thanks! More updates soon.
-Mrs. Ramsey :)

We're legal! (Almost)

2007-09-05T22:45:00.000-05:00

This morning B and I headed over to the good ol' Harris County court house and got our marriage license!! It turns out it's really easy to get one of these things. I was imagining us waiting in ridiculously long lines, but when we got there we didn't have to wait at all! (I guess it helps that we went to the one in Tomball.) We only had to give them our drivers licenses and pay $41. Anybody could do that! -Oh, and we had to raise our right hands and swear that all of our contact info was correct, yada yada yada, we confirmed that neither of us had ever been married and that neither paid child support, oh and that we weren't related. Wait, what? Did they really ask us that? Oh, they did. Do people actually go in there and say "yes"? That must be an awkward conversation that follows.

Things left to do:
print the programs (I know, I know)
pack for the movers, who are coming THIS WEEKEND to haul away my stuff
figure out where to fit all of the stuff that said movers will be hauling to B's apartment
wrap presents
confirm plans with the florist
seating charts
decide on which verse(s) to read during ceremony
practice walking in my wedding shoes (piece of cake)
pack for honeymoon!
pray for no hurricanes during said honeymoon

10 days to go!

Professional wedding performer?

2007-08-27T12:07:00.000-05:00

Last night Branden and I met with Don to go over the order of the ceremony. It's crazy that the day is almost here! Less than three weeks now! I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. Branden and I were thinking that Don probably has to do TONS of weddings, since he's the head of Summit. The ones I know of are Nate and Abby's, and he did Tim and Kim's, and he's doing Rick's, and then there's us. I'm sure there are plenty more, too. When you go to a mega church like ours, that means that Don is over thousands of single adults, and when any of them want to get married (like us!) a lot of them will naturally go to him! I wonder if he ever has any free weekends? Then again, this IS HFBC we're talking about. :P

Shout out to all of my teacher friends starting back to school this week (or last week, or the week before). My prayers are with you, and I know you need them! :)

T-minus 19 days! (Yes, we're in the teens now!!)

I finally cracked

2007-08-12T23:14:00.001-05:00

A few words of advice: Don't attend any weddings right before your own! I went to one this weekend (rehearsal AND wedding) and the poor bride was so stressed out the whole time! Fortunately I could tell she was doing better during the reception, but it was enough to rub off a little on me! I experienced my first wedding-related anxiety attack Saturday morning. I woke up at 6:15 and couldn't go back to sleep because I kept thinking that Branden still needed to find something useful to monogram for his groomsmen, and surely five weeks wasn't enough time to get that done. Fortunately that feeling subsided today, and I did have a great time at the wedding, so I'm glad I went, but I would say that unless it was a really important wedding (which this one was) then it might be a good idea to gracefully bow out to save yourself some sanity!

34 days left!

You win this round, Invitations!

2007-08-01T23:26:00.000-05:00

I've decided that my wedding invitations are my arch nemesis. No matter how much I THINK I've prepared my guest lists and triple checked everything, there are always dozens of changes to make every single day. Including my inner battle to invite the childhood friends that I USED to be close to but haven't so much as talked to about the weather in years. And then there's my inability to see the future and know how many people will not be able to come. So the chapel fits 220 people... that means I can invite 300, right? :P My only saving grace has been my ability to print the addresses on the envelopes from my computer. Thanks to good ol' Microsoft I can transfer the addresses from a spreadsheet to Word right to the printer. Best stinking invention ever!! Ahhh, I can breathe again.

Branden and I got to go to Ashton Gardens tonight for Menu Tasting night! It's pretty much exactly how it sounds. They feed us all the delicious things on their menu and we get to critique them and decide what we want to eat at the wedding. Not a bad night, especially since the food was free! For some reason food always tastes better when it's free. :P

Could ya hammer a little more quietly?

2007-06-14T10:38:00.000-05:00

So my parents are having wood floors installed downstairs right now, and it is SO FRIGGIN LOUD!! I work from home, and even with my door closed I can barely hear the people I'm talking to over the phone. The workers are banging away, tearing out tile and carpet, moving furniture. I'm excited that they're getting this done, but I can't get any work done around here! Maybe this would have been a good day to drive into the office!

A good little wifey

2007-06-09T00:47:00.000-05:00

Here's an actual article from an old magazine that my mother so lovingly forwarded to me. Did they take this thing seriously even in the 1950s?? My favorite is the one about his topics of conversation being more important than mine. -No, wait, it's the part where it says never to complain if your husband stays out all night. Like hel- I mean, umm, I strongly disagree!

Of COURSE there should be love and respect in a marriage, and I'll probably be doing a lot of the things that this old article suggests, but SHEESH. This is probably what so many people visualize when we Christians start talking about submissive wives, when this couldn't be further from the truth. Maybe I'll talk more about submission later, but for now, this future wifey is going to bed. :P

Deadly computer screens and registration guns

2007-05-31T22:57:00.000-05:00

So, funny thing happened yesterday. I'm busy working, and all of a sudden my computer freezes; mouse arrow won't even move. I reboot the computer, and boom. Blue screen of death. Uh oh. I called the help desk, and long story short, my hard drive has crashed and I've pretty much lost everything on my computer. This is my work computer, too. Yeah, and has Liz backed up any of her work in over a year? Nope. (Smacks forehead.) So while IBM orders me another hard drive, I've got a little extra time on my hands if anyone knows of any good ways to recover data off of a broken hard drive!

On a positive note, wedding planning is going well! We're in the process of doing something I have been excited about since day one: REGISTERING!! I am already a big fan of shopping, so picking things out that I'm not actually going to pay for is an added bonus! Branden has been awesome, too. He actually didn't mind registering, especially since he got to hold the gun. :) We're pretty much done at Crate and Barrel (easily one of my favorite stores!), and are almost finished with Pampered Chef. We're going to tackle Target this weekend, and we should be in good shape!

Working for the man (upstairs)

2007-05-16T08:30:00.000-05:00

On days like today, I like to remember this verse:

Colossians 3:23-24

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

I'm getting old

2007-05-10T08:57:00.000-05:00

I consider myself a person who is in fairly good shape. I work out regularly, eat well, etc. But then why is it that after playing ultimate for a couple of hours last night I feel like crap today? I woke up at the early hour of 7am (one of the perks of working at home) :) and I felt like I had been run over by a steam roller. I have zero energy and I have little-to-no motivation to do anything production whatsoever.

Oh, and might I mention two weeks ago when I played in the dodgeball tournament at church? It seemed innocent enough. You throw a little squishy ball at the opposite team and try to hit people, and you try not to get hit yourself. I didn't THINK I was using that much energy. Yeah, I was wrong. I could barely walk for two days after that. I had to walk around like an old lady. Standing up after sitting for a few hours was killer. And the stairs in my house became my enemy. The only consolation I had was that Branden was also in a lot of pain after the tournament, so at least I had someone to complain with. :)

Let's see... wedding updates: I now have two flower girls (my mom's cousin's daughters), and Mom and Grandma offered to put their sewing skills to use, and are making their dresses. I now have a stringed quartet to play during the ceremony. We also booked our honeymoon (woo hoo!!) and we're scheduled to go check out a photographer this weekend and hopefully make a decision on that. We ordered our wedding bands, and have gone to our first marriage counseling session. Oh, and our marriage workshop at church is next weekend, which I'm super pumped about!

Here is our wedding website, which is a work in progress:
http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/ElizabethOsborne&BrandenRamsey

That is all.

Mark your calendars!

2007-04-20T23:09:00.000-05:00

It's official, we have a wedding date!! After much research and over-analyzation on my part, we made a decision! Branden and I are getting married on Saturday, September 15th at Ashton Gardens. You may remember A.G. from our dear friend Abby's wedding back in December! (Thanks for the idea, Abby!) Haha. We did look at several other places but when it came down to it we really liked A.G. the best. So now I'm proud to have the following things checked off my wedding to-do list:

Enjoyed engagement party put on by superb party throwers Jana and Abby

Found and ordered wedding dress and all the "trimmings"

Scheduled premarrital counseling

Completed wedding inventory required for counseling (piece of cake) :)

Found the wedding band I want

Confirmed an officiant

Confirmed date and location of ceremony & reception (includes caterer)

Got "yes's" from all of my bridesmaids!

Decided on bridesmaids' dresses

ALMOST finished guest list

Not bad, huh? :) But now that those very few things are done, I'm realizing I have less than five months to go and and a rediculously huge list of things taunting me! Anyway I hope to get a wedding website up before too long. I'll keep ya posted! :)

I'm getting married!

2007-03-31T23:55:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I guess it's about time I share the news with everyone in Blogville... Branden and I are ENGAGED!!! He proposed on Saturday, March 24. Here's a synopsis of the evening... He took me to the Amazon Grill, which is where we went on our first date (I highly recommend the restaurant!) and then he took me on a romantic carriage ride in Downtown Houston. It was so fun to ride around in the middle of the streets downtown in a horse-drawn carriage! Then after declaring that he had another surprise for me, Branden took me to the Museum of Fine Arts, where we also went on our first date. There is a sculpture garden right outside of the museum, and at the back of the garden he had set up a circle of candles on the ground. This is where we stood and where he proposed! Another awesome things is that Greg and Jana, who have been right beside us the entire time we've dated, came early and were the ones who actually set up the candles, and after Branden proposed (and I answered!) they ran back and celebrated with us! It was a wonderfully happy time and I couldn't have asked for anything better. (And did I mention Branden picked out a beautiful ring as well? Thanks again Jana for giving him the tip!) :)

-The future Mrs. Ramsey! Woo hoo!

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...

2006-12-01T09:46:00.000-06:00

There's nothing like dousing yourself in Christmas music to get through a long work day! Here's a couple of great Christmas stations to add some holiday cheer:

Classic Christmas:
http://music.yahoo.com/launchcast/stations/station.asp?i=616
Jazz Holiday:
http://music.yahoo.com/launchcast/stations/station.asp?i=617

On the road again

2006-09-23T23:31:00.000-05:00

This passed week I had a business trip in Burbank, California, which was the first time I've traveled in about five months (for work). I used to fly up there every week... fly up early Monday morning, get back to Houston late Friday night. It was an exhausting way to live! So being back this week was interesting. I almost felt like I was at home again (I had worked there in Burbank for about a year). I checked into my same hotel. I got right back into my same routine. I still remembered how to drive around LA. I remembered where all my favorite restaurants were. (Daphne's all the way, baby!) And as I was going about my same routine, basking in the beauty of Cali's palm trees and sea breezes, all I could think about was how much happier I am now that I actually work in Houston. Sure, California may sook glamorous, but in a sense it's just like any other city. No matter where you live, you need people. Family, friends, a good church home, places to get plugged in. It used to be that when I travelled, I'd stretch myself too thin, trying to make both LA and Houston my home. Now that I can invest all my time into one place, I'm much happier. Don't get me wrong, I love the friendships that I made in LA (including yours, Michelle!!) but you can only do so much when you're there only half the time. Now I'm a member of a wonderful church, and I have time to invest in friendships and ministries there. I spend lots of time with my family. And my boyfriend Branden and I just celebrated our 5 month anniversary! All this to say, while I'm thankful for the opportunities and experiences I had when I worked out of town, I am so thankful that God has directed me back home!

How I spent my Guatemala mission trip

2006-09-06T21:31:00.000-05:00

Evening, everyone! I finally finished writing my letter explaining all that happened during my mission trip to Guatemala! Here it is for your reading pleasure, enjoy! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hola mi familia y mis amigos!

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers during my trip to Guatemala! I can joyfully report that it was a successful trip on many levels and God was faithful to make His name known! I’d like to share a few of my experiences with you about our trip and explain what I learned about how God is working in this part of the world.

We spent seven days in Guatemala, and so many things happened while we were there, that it seemed more like seven months! Almost as soon as we jumped off the plane in Guatemala City, we were ready to immerse ourselves in the new country. We spent our first day visiting a small church called Villa Nueva, in Guatemala City, and spent the afternoon with the youth group. We sang worship songs (all in Spanish!), talked with the youth and encouraged them, played games, and had our first of numerous pizza parties that would take place that week!

Sunday we had the opportunity to attend the service at a church, Iglesia Biblica Centroamericana, in Guatemala City. After the church service we met with the young adults of Iglesia Biblica, and after eating lunch together we all went to Central Park for street evangelism! This was probably one of the most challenging and scariest experiences for me that week. But God blessed us so much, because we were able to have many great conversations with the Guatemalan people, and while some were not interested in hearing the gospel, some did accept Christ as their Savior that day! It was a wonderful thing to witness.

Monday and Wednesday were spent in Ciudad de Refugio (City of Refuge), which is a very poor part of Guatemala City. We worked with a local church that twice a week holds a feeding program for the children of the city. Our team helped prepare the meals, played with the children outside, made balloon animals, painted faces, and held a Vacation Bible School, in which we used songs and stories to talk about Jesus with the kids. One of my favorite memories of the week was seeing two of the men on our team praying with a young boy in Ciudad de Refugio we had befriended, to accept Christ as his Savior.

Tuesday was probably the most challenging and heart-wrenching day for me. Our team went to an area called La Limonada, which is a ghetto in Guatemala City. The people there are extremely poor, and it is a very dangerous place to live. This is because La Limonada is located right in the middle of two rival gangs, which unfortunately occupy the time of most of the men in town. We visited an amazing school called Plantio de Jehova. At the school, the children learn how to read and write, and they also learn subjects such as nutrition and proper hygiene. The parents do not have to pay to send their children to this school, but they are required to attend a conference with the school’s owner, Tita, once a month, in which she is able to share the gospel with the parents and teach them proper parenting techniques. During our visit that day, our team visited some of the families’ homes in town and prayed with them. We also held a Vacation Bible School at Plantio de Jehova, in which we were able to share the gospel with the children. This is a dismal situation that these children live in, but it was wonderful to see how God is using Tita and the other teachers to shine a light in this dark place by loving and serving the families in La Limonada. I could definitely see the fruits of their labor, because the children were able to laugh, play, and learn in a safe and loving environment. Not only that, but many of the children were already familiar with the gospel message and were excited to hear us share it with them again!

Thursday we left Guatemala City and visited Joy Filled Homes, which is a home and school for physically and mentally handicapped children who have been abandoned, and is located in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. We helped the teachers, in teaching lessons about God’s love, and also spent time playing with the children.

Friday we came to Antigua, Guatemala, which was without a doubt the most beautiful place I have ever been to. It was once the capital city of all of Central America, and it is about 500 years old! That day we visited Escuela Integrada, which is a school run by a missionary couple in Antigua. We spent time with the children in their PE class, played soccer with them, and shared a message about Christ and prayed with them. Later on we took the students to an ancient ruin in town, where we had a pizza party and were able to play in the beautiful scenery.

Our team was also fortunate to be able to have some time to relax in Antigua and do some sightseeing! We went on a hike in the mountains, bought souvenirs from Mayan peddlers, bartered at the local market, and relaxed and sang worship songs together. God blessed me with an amazing team who were all excited to see God’s name shared with the world! God used these people to help calm my nerves before we left, and continued to bless me with their love and encouragement throughout the week. We shared many laughs and tears together.

What an exciting yet humbling revelation it was to realize and see first-hand that God is working and abounding outside of my small world in Houston, Texas! I admit that it is so easy for me to allow myself to be wrapped up in my own life and experiences, that I forget that God is bigger than, well, me. Thankfully He is!! His greatness and love is bigger than anything I could ever fathom, and His will for the nations and the world is blossoming and thriving through the lives of faithful believers, including the ones I was privileged to work with in Guatemala. I am very thankful to have had the chance to witness what God is currently doing in Guatemala.

If you have any questions about my experience in Guatemala, please let me know! Also, if you’d like to see the pictures from my trip, I’ve posted them online at http://tamu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2109879&l=b2b0d&id=8312090
(It only works if you copy the URL and paste it in a new window.)

Thanks again to you all for your prayers, they accomplished much and brought us home safely! Please keep in touch!

Dios le bendiga (God bless you),
Liz

I'm back :)

2006-08-20T21:38:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Did you miss me? :) I know I haven't posted in so so long! Life has been very hectic lately, but I'm so excited to share with you how my trip to Guatemala went! I'm almost finished writing my letter about it, so soon I'll have a nice essay about the trip for you to enjoy! Aren't you bursting with excitement? :)

I will say, though, that God was very faithful during our trip. He kept us safe and healthy, and showed us some of the ways that He is working powerfully in Guatemala. It was definitely a lesson in God's greatness!

I hope you all are doing well! More coming soon! XOXO

Let's get this show on the road!

2006-05-27T00:34:00.000-05:00

Thank you everyone for your prayers and kind words this week! I'm happy to report that God has given me a wonderful peace and now I can't wait to leave tomorrow morning! :) No more nervousness (well, maybe just a little), but I can't wait to see how God is working in Guatemala. I can't wait to see what He's going to do while we're there! What He'll do with us and the people we interact with there! Here's the note I've sent out to some peeps, and I would love it if yall would pray for me as well!

-Oh, and please pray for my friends who are leaving for Cuba tomorrow too, and for two dear friends who will be leaving for Ecuador on Monday!

------------------------------------

Dear friends and family,

Hello my loved ones! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying all the riches that God’s love offers. I have been doing wonderfully; it turns out that life after college isn’t so bad! ;) It has been a blast, actually. God has blessed me immensely with a great job at IBM and a warm church home, Houston’s First Baptist Church. I have become very involved with HFBC this year, which is the reason why I am writing to you today.

God has provided me with the amazing opportunity to participate in a mission trip to Guatemala! I will be working with a team of sixteen people from my church to serve the people of Guatemala and share with them the grace and love of our Savior Jesus Christ. Some of the things that we will be doing there include serving a new church in Guatemala City, holding a Vacation Bible School at a local children’s center, street evangelism, and ministering to the people of a nearby Mayan village. We will also have the opportunity to tour Antigua, Guatemala’s ancient capital city!

I would like for you to join with me on my quest to share the love of Christ with the people of Guatemala! God has graciously provided for my financial needs, but you can still help my team and me greatly by holding us up in prayer while we are there. My team and I will be entering a spiritual battle zone, and I am asking you to help me fight! Here are some ways you can pray specifically:

First and foremost that God’s sovereign will be done, and that His name will be glorified!
That God will continue to prepare, nurture, and strengthen the hearts and minds of our team, and that He will prepare the hearts of the Guatemalan people to hear His message as He presents it through us.
That God will bless our journey, keep us safe, and move powerfully through our team as we share His love and grace to the people of Guatemala!

Our team leaves this Saturday, May 27th, and will be returning Saturday, June 3rd. I will be sure to share my experiences with you when we return! Thank you for your love and support, and please consider praying for my team and the people of Guatemala. In this way you can join me in the exciting ministry of helping to fulfill the Great Commission!

Grace and peace to you,
Elizabeth

Psalm 96:2-3
Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

Mission trip jitters

2006-05-22T23:14:00.000-05:00

Evening, everyone. I'm writing with a heavy heart tonight. I'm so blessed to have some wonderful things happening in my life right now, but a tremendous challenge is quickly approaching this weekend and I was surprised to find myself crying this evening about it. I'm leaving with a team for Guatemala this Saturday, to spend a week doing mission work in Guatemala City and Antigua. I've been super excited for weeks, and then starting last week my nerves started kicking in and tonight the waterworks turned on. Can't really say for sure why. Maybe because I've been so busy lately, always on the go, not really spending a lot of time letting it soak in. I've been preparing logistically, financially, spiritually, mentally, but not really emotionally. I've been faithful to spend time with the Lord in His word and in prayer every day, and especially at times like these. So maybe it's just my own personal weakness that's surfacing, or maybe it's the enemy trying to wear me down. Either away, I would really appreciate your prayers right now. Thanks, everyone. Let me know how I can be in prayer for you as well. You are loved!

Spin, spin

2006-05-08T22:22:00.000-05:00

I have never in my life been so tired or hungry as I was this evening. Seriously, I could have eaten a horse. For those of you who were laughing at me for losing my appetite lately, don't worry it found its way home tonight. The answer? Spin class! And what is spin, you might ask? Only the most evil form of aerobic workout ever devised by mankind. It is usually led by an insanely muscular woman who likes to name her class "Hellacious" and such, and fills the room with loud and obnoxious music. It involves an innocent looking bicycle machine, but looks can be very deceiving. That thing is evil. Evil! And the instructor will tell you that you'll be going over "rolling hills", but they're not so gentle and rolling. Oh, no. They're freaking huge mountains, if you ask me. And after the whole thing is over, you can't walk. And you want to eat everything in sight, including the horse. So, all this to say, thanks Audrey for being such a great friend and sucking me into spin class. And uh, I'll see you there next week. ;)

Step up!

2006-04-30T21:33:00.000-05:00

My new memory verse:

2 Timothy 1:7 - "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline."

Boy, if I ever needed a verse pounded into my head right now, it is probably this one. I'm probably one of the most freakishly-timid people about certain things. If I'm uncomfortable, I back off and don't deal with it. Or if I'm nervous or shy, same thing. It bugs me so much. But as I was praying this evening, this verse came to mind. God doesn't want me to cower in the face of challenges. He wants me to acknowledge my own weakness and embrace His strength! Step up, Liz! :)

Philippians 4:13 - "I can do ALL THINGS through Him who STRENGTHENS ME."

If I remember correctly, the literal translation of this verse is really "Him who continually pours strength into me." That's powerful stuff! I hope you all are having a blessed evening, let me know how I can pray for you. (Yes, you can post comments if you don't have a blog!) But feel free to pick up the phone too. Much love! Peace-

Move over, Easter bunny

2006-04-16T20:41:00.000-05:00

Seeing as it's Easter Sunday, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share what Easter is all about. Let me know if yall have questions or thoughts. :)

Matthew 28
1Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
2And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
3And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
4The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
5The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.
6"He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.
7"Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you."
8And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.
9And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.
10Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me."
11Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened.
12And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
13and said, "You are to say, 'His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.'
14"And if this should come to the governor's ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble."
15And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.
16But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.
17When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.
18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

The blessing of friendship!

2006-04-10T21:54:00.000-05:00

This has been a week to catch up with dear friends. At a wedding this weekend I got to catch up with my darling friend and college roomie Vanessa. She is like a sister to me in so many ways; I've had the privilege of watching her grow into a mature and radiant woman of God. I am so proud of her! :) And then this evening I finally took the time to go to a spin class with another of my dear college friends, Audrey. That girl has the biggest heart you'll ever see! It's amazing how much she cares for others and values her friendships. The Lord has definitely blessed me with the friendships of many amazing, Godly women, and is growing me and teaching me through them.

You don't see this every day!

2006-03-23T07:56:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures you won't see every day on the news!

My cup overflows

2006-02-26T23:36:00.000-06:00

Howdy everyone! I thought I'd start things off with a few of my favorite verses:

Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight."

Psalm 23
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."