Meeska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse!

 Our little girl is totally obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Hence the above Mickey shaped food.  (I'm just thankful shes obsessed with something easy to shape food into!)   

Balloons...could have been the only gift she got and she would have been totally content

I cant believe this little girl is 2 already!  And now....

 

We're a family of 4!!  Wow how time flies!

Happy Birthday to our dear sweet Eden!  You are a good and perfect gift to us!!

Things We Love

We love the fall....I think we've mentioned that before.   We joke that we do everything in the fall.  We met in the fall and started dating the next fall.  Clint's birthday is in the fall.  We got married in the fall.  And now BOTH babies birthday's are in the fall.  It is our favorite time of year!  The cool air and presence of football make us nostalgic every October.

One of our favorite things to do to celebrate is to enjoy these amazing (and healthy!) muffins with a cup of hot coffee.  ENJOY!!

Pumpkin Muffins

1 Cup pumpkin

1/2 cup  ground flax seed

1 egg

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)

Mix all ingredients together (batter will be very thick!)

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  

Makes 12 large muffins

Yum!

I Love This Man!

Today is an all day celebration of the greatest man I know!  My hubby!  So here are the top 20 reasons I love Clint Darst.

1) He loves Jesus more than anything in the world, including me.
2) He is committed to bringing truth to whatever situation he is in.
3) He is hardly ever in a bad mood.  And if he is, its often very short lived
4) He is cheezy...and insists that I laugh at his antics (such as his ever present impersonation of a high school baseball coach)
5) He makes me have A LOT more fun than I would allow myself to have
6) He plays little games he makes up with our little girl
7) He humors me and pretends to care about crafts and cooking
8) He can still tear up a football field. 
9) He is SO charming...and still tries to win me with it
10) He frequently reminds me of how we met and how crazy about him I was (true)
11) He refuses to discipline our babies out of anger
12) He leads people in a way that engages their hearts.  He has extremely high character
13) He is SUPER good looking :)
14) Hes not afraid to look silly in front of anyone.
15) He can and will make friends with anyone he wishes (celebrities included)
16) He is an evangelist...about everything he loves.
17) He is one of the most faithful people I have ever met (proof is in the 4 years he waited for me to realize I was in love with him)
18) He makes anyone around him feel loved and enjoyed
19) He loves deeply, no matter what the response
20) And finally...He is SUPER good looking :)

Happy Birthday Clint!!  Love you forever!

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

9.  Ananias most likely died as a Martyr.

According to tradition, he evangelized in Damascus and then died for his faith in Eleutheropolis. Over the last year the that God has placed on my heart is “Dyin’ to Live.” It represents the longing for authentic satisfying life that I find in my heart and in the culture around me, but it also represents the paradox of the Christian faith. Christ calls His followers to, “deny themselves take up their cross and follow Him.” Paul says in Romans 8:13, “if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.” Then in 2 Corinthians 4:10-12, “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.”

Nias,

I pray that you would take the life of Jesus to those who do not have it. Be it here or abroad, take the Light to those in darkness. I pray you value Christ and the lost world more than you value your own life.

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

Nine Meditations on the Man we Named our First Born Son After

8. Ananias was a man of good reputation

Growing up I had a very close relationship with my mother and father. From time to time when dad needed to teach me something we would have what he called a “daddy talk.” One of the life lessons he taught me in those ‘daddy talks’ was how to be a man of good reputation. He told me over and over, “Clint your reputation walks way out in front of you.” Apparently that was true of Ananias as well. When Paul is sharing his testimony he says that Ananias was “a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there…”  This reminds me of Peter’s exhortation to “keep your conduct among the gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (2 Peter 2:12)

Nias,

I pray that you would be a man that has a reputation of loving God and loving others ‘walking way out in front of you’, for the Glory of the one who walked in your place, died your death and rose for your life.

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

9 Meditations on the man we named our first born son after

7. Ananias Disappears

Verses 17-19 record Ananias praying for Paul, the scales falling from his eyes, and Paul’s baptism. Then something very interesting happens. The text follows Paul’s ministry from here on out. The only other mention of Ananias of Damascus in the rest of the Bible is in Acts 22 when Paul shares his testimony.  We never hear of him again. So we meet Ananias in verse 10 of chapter 9 and he disappears after verse 18. 8 verses of interactions with Ananias is all we have. He shows up as an ordinary disciple, gets called by God to meet a need in the apostle Paul’s life, responds honestly, obeys Him and then disappears. What is the result of his obedience? People like you and me worship Jesus because Paul ministered to the gentiles. Every tribe, tongue and nation will worship King Jesus because God called Paul to Himself. Paul had a need to be met before he could do that. And this ordinary obedient disciple of Jesus met that need.  He probably baptized Paul.  Praise God for Ananias of Damascus.  This reminds me of my most recent favorite song, ‘Background’ off of Lecrae’s new album ‘Rehab.’  My favorite line in the song Lecrae says, “I end up confessing I’m not that impressive matter of fact I’m who I are, a trail of star dust leading to The Super Star.”  I love that Ananias of Damascus is a ‘background’ type of leader, who so leads to the Super Star through the Apostle Paul, that most of us don’t even know who he is.  Job well done Ananias, you were a trail of stardust!

Nias,

I pray that you bring glory to God by accomplishing that which He has called you to do, nothing more, nothing less (John 17:4). Who knows, he may call you to meet the needs of the next ‘Paul’ in His kingdom.  I pray that you would view each person you influence as the next possible key kingdom leader and that you would play the background so to make them fall more and more in love with Jesus, the Super Star.

 

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

9 Mediations on the man we named our 1^st born son after

 

6. Ananias is Obedient

After being honest with God about his concerns, hearing God tell him again what he was to do and why he was to do it (15-16), Ananias obeys Him and lays his hands on Paul and watches the scales fall from Paul’s eyes.  So he was insecure and afraid, but because of God’s patience and power, Ananias obeyed and was used to minister to the man who would become the most influential redeemed sinner in the Christian faith.  In Acts 22, Paul shares his testimony and says this about Ananias (12), “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law…” Ananias was known for his obedience to God.  The life of obedience always leads to God's glory and the good for others.

Nias,

I pray that you would be a man who after responding honestly to God, work through your fears and insecurities and are obedient to Him. He is God. He is good and He is in control. As the old hymn says, “Trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”  I pray that God would use you to remove spiritual scales from the eyes of servants of God like the apostle Paul.

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

 

9 Mediations on the man we named our 1^st born son after

 

5.Ananias is Honest with God

God tells Ananias in verses 11-12 to go lay hands on Saul of Tarsus and pray for him, that he may regain his sight.  Verse 13-14 is not Ananias’ most glorious moment. As a matter of fact, he seems to think that he needs to remind God of who Saul of Tarsus is.  “’Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.’” So we see here that Ananias is afraid of that which God has called him to do. He responds in what seems to be fear hoping to enlighten God so as to protect him-self.  Oh, how I can identify with Ananias. All too often when God calls me to do something, my first response is hesitation, fear and insecurity. But the reason I highlight this is because of verse 15, “But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.’” The advancement of the Kingdom of God is not predicated upon the initial response of the man/woman God calls, but upon the almighty power, love, mercy, wisdom and patience of The Almighty King of the Kingdom.

Nias,

We serve a God who is slow to anger and quick to love. When you feel insecure and afraid, you can tell Him. He will be patient and give you what you need to persevere. His Kingdom will advance.

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

9 Mediations on the man we named our 1^st born son after

 

4. Ananias Responds to God

Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, Samuel and…Ananias? If you are familiar with the Christian faith you are familiar with the first 5 heroes that I mentioned. What do they have in common with Ananias of Damascus? Very simple, God spoke to them and their response was either “Here am I” (Abraham, Jacob, Isaiah) or “Here I am” (Moses, Samuel). Acts 9:10b Ananias responds to God, “Here I am, Lord.” I love this. I love the posture of these men being ready to listen to God when He speaks.  It reminds me of standing in the dugout before a little league baseball game…the coach begins to read the lineup card, “leading off playing center field” and then you hear your name called.  You sprint out onto the field ready to give your all and represent your team, thankful that the head coach picked you and sent you.  God addresses these men as The Coach and immediately they present themselves to the God whom they love and follow.  God speaks and out onto the field they go, ready to represent their Coach by playing their position with all they have.

Nias,

I pray that God calls you and that you respond to His voice, ready to do whatever He calls you to do. I pray that He launches you into Kingdom labor that you have no hope to accomplish, save the grace, mercy and power of He who sends you.

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

9 Mediations on the man we named our 1^st born son after

 

3. God calls Him by name.

Did you know that there are some 200 billion stars in our galaxy? And our galaxy is 1 of 100 Billion galaxies? That is more than my mind can even grasp. And check this out: Psalm 147:4 says, “He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.”  God determines the exact number of stars in each galaxy and not only that, he names them! I share this because I am blown away with how big and ultimate God is.  The next thing I love about Ananias is that the same Ultimate God that created and named all the stars speaks to Ananias by name (Acts 9:10b), “The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’” There is something powerful to reading Holy Scripture and seeing God call people out by name.  We love that Ananias is one of those men!  This reminds me of a wonderful phrase that a friend and hero (Matty B) introduced to me, “God is Ultimate and Intimate.” He is Ultimate enough to create and name trillions and trillions of stars, yet intimate enough to knit Nias together in Rachel’s womb and number each of his hairs.  Psalm 139:13-14 "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." Matthew 10:30 "But even the hairs of your head are all numbered." Who knew the stars in the sky and the hairs on your head had something in common, they are numbered by our Creator!

Nias,

I pray that you would know the glories of the Ultimate God that created everything, yet is the Intimate God who we pray calls you by name.

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16)

9 Mediations on the Man We Named Our 1^st Born Son After

2. Ananias was a disciple.

Most people who know Acts chapter 9 are familiar with it for The Apostle Paul’s conversion.  Having already met (and being blinded by) Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul is waiting and fasting for 3 days. In verse 10 we meet Ananias for the first time. It reads, “Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias.” Most scholars believe he was one of the 72 disciples we read about in Luke 10. He spent time with Jesus and was sent on mission for Jesus.  I love this. He wasn’t some flashy religious leader, just an ordinary disciple of Jesus. Reminds me of Peter and John in Acts 4:12 before the Council, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Jesus uses common men because common men are blown away by who Jesus is. Impressive men are preoccupied with being impressive.

Nias,

I pray you would be a common man who gets blown away by who Jesus is and that people would see your boldness and conclude, 'you must have been with Jesus.'

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10-17, 22:6-16):

9 Mediations on the man we named our 1^st born son after

1. Ananias: (Ἁνανίας) is the Greek form of Hananiah, which is Hebrew word meaning “Yaweh has dealt graciously” or “The Lord is full of grace.”

God’s grace to Rachel and I is overwhelming. From calling us to Himself, giving us wonderful parents, growing us through the ministry of Campus Outreach, to crossing our paths at East Lincoln High School some 8 years ago. Grace by definition is: the free unmerited favor of God. Rachel and I earned the wrath of almighty God by hating Him and loving darkness (John 3:16-21). By sheer grace we have received the favor and love of God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus (I Corinthians 15:3-10). God has given us the free gift of faith to trust in and follow Him (Ephesians 2:8-9). He has surrounded us by people and gifts that keep us clinging to the cross (Hebrews 12:1-2).  He gave us a wonderful daughter, Eden two years ago and now he has given us Nias. We are overwhelmed and can fully testify that the meaning of our son’s name is as true and trustworthy as the morning sunrise…Yaweh is full of grace and has dealt with us graciously. 

Nias,

I pray that The Father would deal graciously with you, draw you unto Himself through Christ very soon, that The Holy Spirit would dwell in you and that you would know the unending Grace of our Lord. I pray that you would become a man like Ananias of Damascus. I love you son!

 

Its a.....

BOY!

Ananias Clinton Darst

We really believe in naming our babies meaningful names.  This one was a big surprise for us.  One night we were reading Eden the story of Paul's conversion (Acts 9) from the Jesus Storybook Bible.  We ran across this character whom neither one of us had ever noticed before.  Clint joked as he had with many other crazy names, "This could be our son's name." I laughed it off asking, "what do you call him, An, Ana?" Clint studied up on Acts 9 and this mysterious character. He ended up doing all of his beach project leaders teaching from the example Ananias set for us.  Ananias heard from the Lord, questioned his ability to do what God was calling him to (restore the sight of a man who was killing or imprisoning every Christian he came in contact with!), trusted God's promises, and went to fulfill God's call on his life.  And then something very interesting happens, he virtually falls off the planet.  You never again hear of Ananias.  He holds a significant role in the life of the most influential Christian leader, outside of Christ, and then he disappears from the pages of the Bible.  We pray this for our son, that he would fulfill the call God has on his life, meet the needs of those whom God has called Him to minister to and then fade into the background as the Lord's will is finished.  We pray like Ananias He will be used by God to raise up men like the Apostle Paul...So how DO you abbreviate Ananias, what will we call him?..."NIAS"

Clinton is actually Clint's middle name.  It is a family tradition and this one makes at least the 5th straight generation with the first male having Clinton as his middle name.

So with great joy we welcome this child into our home! Please join with us in praying for his salvation!

Ministry Update!!

Though we use this blog mostly for personal updates, I wanted to update you all on some really exciting happenings on all 3 of our campuses! 

Wingate: 
* Our campus staff hosted a dodge-ball tournament in the first few weeks of school and 300 students showed up!  This is unheard of at Wingate. 
* 135 students were at the first weekly meeting!  A football player who Clint has had many gospel conversations with came to Christ!

(Though numbers are not our primary goal, there is a reality that the more people involved in these types of events, the more will hear the gospel.  Please pray that the momentum, fun and community would translate into genuine conversions and growth into laborers in the kingdom!)

UNCG:
* Many of the leaders in the movement are multiplying their own lives, leading Bible studies and sharing their faith with non-believers on campus!
* 35 girls and 17 guys just returned from our annual fall retreats! 

Elon:
* Artie, our newest addition to the team, showed up to Elon today to give his life away for the sake of the gospel!!
* The ministry is becoming very student led!  This is a huge answer to prayer as students gain vision to impact their campus and "own" the ministry's convictions and vision!


*Between the 3 schools about 300 students are hearing the gospel weekly at our evangelistic meetings!

Please pray with us that the Lord would use these meetings, retreats, relationships and events to draw unbelievers to Himself! 



A special thanks to Mike Sal and Luke for admitting they read my blog :)

Things We Love

I am a bit of a health nut.  Not overly crazy, just a little less...well American in my diet than most.  Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE Chick-Fil-a and various other fast food.  I love a good cheeseburger.  Sweet tea is a delectable treat and a must for summer.  But in our lifestyle we have to eat out a lot.  So when I am at home what I cook is more than a few healthy steps above Bojangles.

My husband grew up not eating many veggies and eating a ton of sugar.  So when we got married we had some issues agreeing on what was bought at the grocery store.  This applies not only to food, but sometimes more so to the beverage category.  I didn't want to have super sweet tea in the house all the time and he wanted something besides water.  One day I stumbled upon a little green box that brought harmony to our dinner table!

Let me start by saying not all green tea is created equal.  This is the ONLY brand we like.  Others tend to taste like either grass, mint or citrus.  Ick.  But this is pure refreshment!  Hardly a day goes by when we don't have a pitcher of this in our fridge.  And I'm proud to say we are responsible for converting many green tea haters into lovers.  :)  Green tea has more antioxidants, less caffeine and requires less sugar than black tea.  So while the heat of the summer lingers on, I highly suggest you go grab a box of this goodness and do the following:

Microwave 4 bags in 2 cups water for 2 1/2 minutes

Let steep until nice and green

Add 1/4-1/3 cup of sugar and stir until dissolved

add 6 cups cold water and chill

try not to drink the entire thing in one day (good luck)

Rock a bye baby...

Today marks exactly one month until our due date with baby number 2!!  While I am still in shock at the reality of this, I am feeling the pressure more and more.  This is especially true when I remember that Eden was 2 weeks early!  Yikes!

Currently, the baby's room looks a lot like an attic.  Boxes everywhere, a crib in pieces on the floor, no furniture what so ever (we realized about a week ago that we have NO furniture for his/her clothes.  This happens when someone is living in the "nursery" pre-move with their own furniture.  Oops!).

Anyway, we have gone back and forth about whether or not to keep the baby with us in our bedroom at first.  We kept Eden with us because she never slept.  And at the time walking across the house every 45 minutes didn't sound very exciting.  However, we know moving the baby out of the room means a little more sleep for at least one parent.  We don't have a bassinet and so had settled on just putting the baby in his/her room.  That is until my mom showed me this... Fisher Price Rock and Play Sleeper.

 

What a great idea!  With the amount of traveling we do, and the lack of flexibility even a small bassinet provides, this is amazing!  It holds a baby up to 25 lbs. (which in theory means my toddler could use it!  Ha!) and folds up to move from room to room (or city to city- hooray no huge pack-and-play to pack in our car!)!  So now, this little one can sleep in our room at night, in the living room during the day and at grandma's for the weekend...eventually.

This is a must have for us.  Thanks Fisher Price!  I cant wait to get one of these for our new little one!

Face Lift!

The house is finally done being painted... 

Before (a little drab and fading)

And After

a much cozier color! 

(Please excuse the dead ferns hanging from the porch.  I'm in the process of trying to revive them!!)

Next on the list is the door color.  I want something bright that pops!  I'm thinking cherry red.  Suggestions?   

The parade isn't cancelled...

What we didn't tell you about our moving day is how after gifts were abundantly poured on us, things fell apart, literally.  You can always count on Satan trying to rain on your parade when things are going well.  He always tries to taint the good gifts the Lord gives us. 

So heres how it went....

We leave closing to fill up our U-haul with the first load and have to wait a while for the cleaning ladies to finish up.  We end up not getting to the new house until 6 pm.  Not great when your plan is to sleep there.  While unloading the very first piece of furniture, I watch as my treasured dining room table gets pushed too far and "craaaaack" goes the leg.  I had previously joked with Clint that they could break anything they wanted, just not my table.  Ouch. 

There is a car right across the street from our house whose back window has been smashed.  Not exactly a warm welcome.

Two sweet girls from UNCG showed up a few minutes later with cookies, sweet tea and bubbles to keep my toddler happy.  It worked amazingly well, but apparently the mass amount of sugar being ingested also led to every mosquito in Greensboro finding my daughter. 

We then walk into the now (mostly) empty house to find multiple mouse traps.  Yikes.

A random guy stops his car in the middle of the road, walks into our yard, directs not so nice words at my hubby and asks everyone there for a cigarette.

Someone unintentionally warns us that we now live beside THE party spot.  Great.

I watch as a truck is moved with our glider on the back.  It falls off and breaks.  Ugh.

We don't go to sleep until 2 am and both wake up at 6 am to allergy attacks, thanks to the never-been-cleaned blinds left behind.  We decide to get up and medicate with coffee. We are overwhelmed and slightly scared that we made the wrong decision.  Was this not a gift from the Lord?  Was it just our doing?  And that's when this happened.

I fix our coffee and sit down in front of our huge window that looks onto the side street.  We pray and I look up to see what...?  THE SUNRISE!  Right there outside the biggest window in the house.  I can see the steam of my piping hot coffee in its light.  What a way to start the day.  And I might add that I have had a particular love for sunrises (and sunsets) for many years.  Our engagement morning started with such a grace. We are immediately relieved.  This is the icing on the cake, a sign from the Lord that He is with us, and we have indeed sought Him and found Him in this decision. 

Since then it has been nothing but affirmation.  We love this house.  But the Giver is much much better than the gift! 

Getting Settled

Someone is sure enjoying her new room!  We decided today, with the help of Clint's parents, to do 2 major things. 1) Put up all the blinds (and trash the ones that were beyond cleaning!)  and 2) Get E's room situated.  So...up went the "big girl bed" for the first time.  AND SHE LOVES IT!  Hooray!  And how stinkin' cute is it?! 

So then I started something I've been itching to do for MONTHS.  Putting these precious decals on her walls.  I love stuff like this...I love being settled, decorating things and feeling at home.  I want Eden to feel like she's got her own room that is special and unique.  So here's a little sneak peek into her "woodland wonderland"! 

She LOVES it (and so does mommy)!  The past few days have been spent climbing in and out of her "new bed" and identifying all the stickers.  I can hardly get her the leave it!  SUCCESS!  Even if there are boxes in every other room, Eden is at home :)

What else have we been up to?

In the midst of moving, a semester starting, being 8 months pregnant and chasing around a very active toddler...I had the privilege of shooting a few photos of some dear friends of ours!  Chris and Nellie just got married this past weekend, but a few weeks ago they drove up to Greensboro to capture the love radiating from them.  Clint and I have had the privilege of seeing these two grow in unbelievable ways over the past four years and ultimately fall in love in the past year.  How cute are they??

Congrats Grissingers!!  We love you both so much!!

More gifts!

As promised...here are more new house updates!  We are getting settled slowly but surely.  In the midst of moving we had to go out of town for a wedding we were both in.  SO fun!  But we couldn't wait to get back to our new abode to finish unpacking.

Closing day proved to bring more unexpected and unbelievable gifts. I'll give you a quick brief on a few.

1) Clint goes for a final walk through and finds the house disgusting.  Doesn't sound like much of a gift, huh? A sequence of events led to us having to move in much later than we thought (the first load arrived at 6pm) BUT, the house was professionally cleaned!  A HUGE gift to an exhausted, prego mama.

2) In addition to being really really dirty, the former owners left a lot of stuff.  Some was the usual dishes, cleaning supplies, etc.  But the best leftover? A 2 year old washer and dryer!!  Much newer and nicer than ours!  Not to mention we didn't have to move ours!!

3) In the midst of signing the closing papers we were informed that the owners paid too much on the closing cost.  We left our signing with enough money to cover the cost to paint the outside of our house.  Something we decided was necessary to do even if it meant not being able to get some other needed things.  Unbelievable.

4) We have been praying for a house and a car for 12 months now.  The same day we signed our closing papers on our new house, someone gave us their (very nice) Passat.  Overwhelmed.

Needless to say we are still recovering from the amazement that the last week has brought.  We are so thankful for the gifts He has given us!  Our deepest prayer now is that we would worship the giver and never the gifts!  No matter how many or how great they are.

Here are a few pics of the house! 

                                                               Before the new paint!

cute lil cabinent

Living room

Trading Spaces...

Well, its official.  We're moving....THIS WEEK!  Does that sound as crazy as it feels?  Because of a few of the contingencies in our contract (getting renters for our current house, structural questions, etc) we didn't really know for sure if it was all going to work out until last Saturday!  And we are moving Tuesday!  Needless to say this week has proven to be a little crazy.   The Lord is sustaining us in all the transition and busyness.  We are extremely excited about having a home of our own, especially one so close to campus!  Clint and I will be married 4 years in November.  This will be our fifth move in those 4 years!  We are both longing to be settled and to have a home where we know we will be for the next season of our lives.  We are so thankful to the Lord that he has allowed us to find a GREAT house that we can afford in such proximity to the students we will be ministering to.  It is truly a good and perfect gift to us.  His goodness is unending.  We are consistently reminded of that in His graciousness to us!

On top of packing and moving this week, our semester also started Monday!  This is the first semester that Clint is in charge of leading the staff at three campuses!  Please pray for us as this is yet another transition for us! 

As far as the house goes, here are a few specs:  It's a 3 Bedroom, 2 bath bungalow that sits up on a hill .2 miles from campus.  It has an office that is enclosed (it has been used as a sunroom and a bedroom)!  This was a HUGE thing for us.  We love to host people and our parents and family often visit so the flexibility of a 4th bedroom was something we wished for but never expected to get.  Also, Clint works from home a lot, and lets just say, Eden isn't so concerned about his personal space.  The door on the office will close, and even has an outdoor entrance.  The living area (which I fell in love with) is very OPEN!  The dining room and living room are hardly separated from the kitchen.  And OH the kitchen.  I have one word for you, Granite.  :)  Ah!

Pictures of the move, the house, and the lovely UNCG students who have offered their time, labor and trucks to help us will come soon! 




Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:17

Our couch is really big..

We bought it about a year ago and we LOVE that couch.  It's great for company, napping (which I have been wearing it out doing), and for jumping as Eden has discovered.  But recently we came to a realization that we may have to get rid of it.  I thought this was an investment that we would have for years to come.  As our babies grew up they would have memories of snuggling up to watch movies as a family on it.  Oh well.  So why would we sell such a wonderful thing?  Because in place of it we may be getting this...

Surprised?  Us too!  We didn't even know this little gem existed until one week ago.  Hubby went to look at an old farmhouse that needed redone for fun and on his way saw a sign for an open house outside this bungalow.  (For the record, I have ALWAYS wanted a bungalow).  Upon seeing the inside he called me and told me I had to come see it. 

As I stepped in I whispered "Why are you doing this to me?"  Its so beautiful.  Charming, cozy, not in need of much repair or even paint (ie: good for someone 7 months prego).  It has 3 bedrooms and an office.  Something we have said we really really want and need for what we do.  And a fabulous kitchen.  :)  It's also .2 miles from campus.  A must for the way we most enjoy living and doing ministry.  Perfect, right?  You see,  we were not exactly in the market for a house right now.  The plan was to wait out our lease until March and pray the Lord would have something for us then.  However, my sweet husband has been itching to get us settled before baby #2 arrives in October.  And I would love that.

So here's how it went from there.  We went to the bank and applied for a loan that we were not eligible for 3 weeks ago....and got it!  Ok Lord...that's strange...

We then made an offer on the house and they countered.  I got majorly cold feet and so Tuesday night we sat down and prayed that the Lord would make His will clear to us.  We did NOT want to move forward if all of this was our doing and not His.  When we sat down we both thought we were about to pull out our offer and as we listed out pros and cons and prayed to the Lord, we both felt like we needed to continue to move forward.  So we did...and countered.  And they accepted.  Whoa.

One of the things we decided we needed to put in the contract was a contingency that we find renters for our current house in Greensboro.  We are doing all this a little prematurely and did not feel like it was honoring to the Lord or serving to our landlord to tell her we were potentially going to be out by September when our lease is up in March.  So we have until this Thursday to find a family to rent the house we are living in now.  WOW. 

We really feel that the Lord has done this for us.  Please be praying with us that if it is His will, we would find renters quickly and be able to move forward on this house!

As for the couch, don't worry, we have already found it a great home in a place where we can visit it consistently.  :)

Things We Love

Yesterday was a first for our family.  All three of us dressed up like cows and went out in public.  This is slightly out of character for all of us.  But there was a VERY good reason for such antics.  Yesterday marked the annual Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-a! 

If you know us, you know we LOVE Chick-fil-a.  And whats not to like?  Fresh, delicious food and unmatched customer service!  And here are the pictures our our little herd to share!

Nothing like going out to dinner with something that cute!  And on top if it...free combos for mommy and daddy and a free kids meal for the calf!!  Hooray Chick-fil-a!

Natural

I am on this new natural kick.  Some of my motivation is coming from a persistent skin issue I have, that seems to be getting worse.  The other motivation is that I am pregnant for the second time.  With Eden I tried to use natural or at least non-smelly cleaners, but my routine as far as what I put on my body didn’t change.  The more I think about it, and read labels that seem to be in another language, the more convicted I become about what products I use.  This has also been aided by a mother in law who is currently making her own line of natural beauty products (sweet!).  I have switched to her soap, deodorant, and lotion, and LOVE all of the above.  I have also started using olive oil or coconut oil as a facial moisturizer.  I love the feeling of knowing all the ingredients are natural, and the freedom to use them knowing everything that is being absorbed into my body is safe for the little one growing there.  Shampoo and conditioner are next.  As far as hair products, when they start making natural serum and mousse that isn’t $20 a bottle, let me know.  

In the midst of my skin woes, I started looking up mineral makeup.  I learned that not all are created equal and many are not natural at all.  Thanks to Passionate homemaking, who did the homework for me, I started looking at Bare Minerals and Everyday Minerals.  I had recently gone to a store near my house and tried out Bare Minerals.  I wasn’t a huge fan, I think the girl used the wrong color on me.  So I began to browse Everyday Minerals site.  They offer free samples (4 in a pack) of foundation so that you can try them before you buy the big compact of your color.  You only pay shipping.  So me, my mom, and my mother in law all went in together and got 3 different packs: Medium, Olive and Tan.  And I must say, I’m in love.  I have never been a fan of makeup.  I hate the way foundation feels on my face and have refused to wear it except when made to (proms, etc).  But having a baby will make you need foundation.  So I took the plunge into the mineral world, and I am sold.  It looks and feels as if I don’t have any makeup on at all, which is my desire, and you can sleep in it!!!  Thats a big deal for someone who virtually never takes what makeup she does wear, off.   I also ordered some concealer and a little eyeshadow/blush pack called “At the Zoo” (appropriate, yes?).  I have been telling everyone about it.  (Did I mention I love it?)  And here's the best part.  A full size foundation is only $9.50...NOT $25!  Cover Girl can hardly compete with that!  So here is my official thank you to Everyday Minerals for easing my skin woes and quickly and comfortably making me look a lil cuter for my man ;)

Calm Before the Storm

Since the 2 month mark has passed (yikes), let us fill you all in.  You may remember a few months back we blogged about winning a vacation from Lifeway magazines to Captiva Island, FL.  Well, 2 weeks ago we finally redeemed the gift certificates and made the 13 hour (give or take) drive down to the Gulf coast to enjoy South Seas Resort.  The coupon was only good for 2 nights at the hotel.  As the vacation approached, we wondered if it was even worth it to spend as much time in the car as we would at the resort.  But, with SBP approaching, we needed a little get away and, well, it was free!! 

    The Lord poured out His grace on us in so many ways during our stay.  The ride down was a great time for Clint and I to catch up, as SBP preparation has dominated his life the past few months.  We stayed about an hour outside of Captiva the night before, and drove over to the resort at 7:00 the next morning.  The island is quaint.  Little restaurants and gift shops are strewn about the main road, while thick vegetation dominates everything else.  We didn’t expect to be able to check in since our reservation wasn’t until 4pm.  The sweet girl at the front desk told us our room wouldn’t be ready until then but she had two rooms with 2 queens open.  Since we sleep in a full bed at home, it was no big deal to us, so we chose a Harbor-side room on the corner of one of the buildings. 

    Before we left for Captiva I jokingly told Clint that I was going to start praying to see a Manatee while we were there.  We have been to FL twice since being married and both times we have searched for them with no luck.  Its on my bucket list.  I will see a Manatee before I die.  As we arrived there were 2 maintenance men fixing a towel bar in the bathroom.  We asked them what were some must do’s and if seeing a Manatee was out of the question.  Thus the Lord’s first wonderful gift to us.  It was mating season in Captiva, and there are manatees all over the harbor and marina.  I then push Clint out the door and nearly ran to the marina.  At first, no luck.  We looked and waited, me with my Nikon in hand ready to catch a glimpse of the elusive manatee.  For those of you who don’t know, there are only 3000 of these things in the world.  Its a big deal.  And after about 5 minutes we saw something under a boat about 30 feet away.  Two manatees drinking the fresh water from a boat.  I almost filled up my camera card, and got a little teary-eyed.  Mission accomplished.  Later that day Clint saw one swimming about 20 feet away from us in the ocean.  Icing on the cake.  Thank you Lord!

    The second way the Lord smiled upon us was through the weather.  The forecast was thunderstorms the whole time we were to be in Captiva.  But, it never rained, not even once.  It got cloudy and looked as if it were going to storm but all we got was a light mist on a hot bike ride. 

    Which brings me to one of the best the parts of the prize we won: bike rentals for 2 days (cruisers of-course!).  The resort is about 3 miles long and a little spread out so we used the bikes to go to the beach, to other parts of the resort, and our favorite, out to dinner.  There is something quite peaceful and playful about riding bikes to dinner with your spouse.  I felt 12 again.  We biked to a quirky little place called The Bubble Room and had some delicious (note: pricey) seafood.  We biked back and sat on the beach to watch the sunset, one of our favorite things.  Again, the Lord is gracious.

    The second day we woke up a little later than planned (too much bike riding and manatee excitement from day one) and headed over to the beach to relax and read, then headed back to the room for lunch.  While we were eating we saw something out of our porch door.  Lo and behold, there was a dolphin, fishing, 25 feet from our balcony.   Dolphins are Clint’s favorite animal.  We have now successfully seen both our favorite animals, in about 28 hours.  He and a few friends stayed in the harbor the remainder of the day and into the next morning.  Talk about a view! 

    We were sad to leave Captiva, but felt so blessed that the 2 night stay felt a lot more like 4 nights!  We hope to have the privilege to return to this peaceful place, but if not, the memories will surely not fade anytime soon.  Thank you Lifeway magazines for this awesome gift!  The Lore surely used it to minister to us! 

Baby Love

The Darst house has been a little crazy lately!  Having a toddler is, in general, unpredictable in a very fun way.  I feel like Eden learns something new everyday.  Today, it was the word "wow".  There are few things in life cuter than watching a little girl read a book and hearing "ahhh...WOW!" when the pages turn! 

In addition to the everyday silliness of our home, my husband has been working sun-up to sun-down on our Summer Beach Project!  We are expecting our biggest summer ever!  There are projected to be more students on this project than ever before in Campus Outreach Charlotte history!  Praise the Lord!  We are getting super excited as the months quickly roll by!  It will be here before we know it! Please be praying for these students as it approaches.  The SBP has been one of the 2 most influential (the other being one-on-one discipleship) instruments in our lives!  Pray that would be so for the 150(ish) students this summer!! 

This morning added a little peace and much much joy into our non-stop schedules.  Clint and I had the privilege of hearing the heartbeat of baby #2!  We were so excited and so so thankful to hear a good report!  And on top of that...we left Eden with our very first (yes, it is really late for this..) non-family babysitter.  We left while bubbles were being blown in the sun-room and returned 2 hours later to find her playing in the living room.  SHE DIDN'T CRY, NOT EVEN ONCE!  What?  Our child?  The child that refuses to stay in the nursery without crying uncontrollably until her whole head is red?  She had met these girls ONCE!  And she had a blast!  Huh...imagine that!  So, props to you Rebecca and Shannon, you successfully conquered the impossible! 

Needless to say, it was a very very good morning :)  No tears and a healthy baby...this 2 baby thing is working out well already!

Things We Love

I have been wanting to write a lil something about this for a while.  In the Darst family, if you like something, it quickly becomes known to everyone you meet.  My husband is an evangelist at heart...and anything he loves, he evangelizes.  This has rubbed off.  And the thing that follows, we LOVE.

So here goes...volume one of Things We Love.

The number one thing we love these days......

The Mentalist!!  

If you have not heard of it, have no fear!  We are here to spread the wonderful news of great entertainment!  The Mentalist stars Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) an ex-psychic who works with the California Bureau of Investigation to help solve crimes.  After a serial killer watches his psychic antics on a morning talk show, Jane comes home to his wife and daughter murdered.  Jane then declares his psychic abilities nonsense and explains that he only "pays attention to detail".  He joins the CBI full-time with implicit motives to catch Red John.  The plot weaves Red John in and out of it's weekly shows, but never ever disappoints. 

Hasn't pulled you in yet?  Here are some reasons we love it.

1. It delivers CSI-type suspense without all the gory (and sexual) ickiness

2. It has the MOST likable cast of any TV show we have ever seen!  Patrick Jane is witty, charming, and unpredictable.  Cho is another favorite, his blunt dryness is very endearing!

3. The writing is excellent.  They somehow keep a light air (via Jane) to the otherwise darkness of crime scenes and death.  (ie: its not too scary for me to watch!)

We are on a mission to convert people to the wonderfulness of The Mentalist.  If this serves to push you in that direction...please do share! :)

Its been a while!

Obviously, life has been a little crazy!  We have continued to travel a lot and have some really fun times in our own house.  So....hes a recap of frenzied February:

 

With the end of football season, we begin preparing (and praying for the Dolphins) for September!

 

We get a (very late) Christmas gift...that she LOVES.

Daddy goes to Asheville for our annual Winter Blast, and Yaya comes to visit!

We enjoy the few days of warm weather by helping Daddy pick up sticks from all the ice and snow!

We have a Team Leader retreat to prepare for our Summer Beach Project and host 12 student leaders in our home!  Momentum builds as the months roll by!  This is our biggest event every year, and one that has changed our lives!  

We find out some fun news....

WE'RE Pregnant!  

Frenzied February indeed.  :)

Do you know what the Bible says about...

 Dating, giving, suffering, sex, money, works, etc?

This is a huge question for those of us who claim Jesus Christ.  You answer is most likely no to at least one of these.  Hubby and I have been convicted lately about our lack of knowledge about the Old Testament.  We have both been highly trained on the New Testament, specifically Paul's epistles, but have spent much less time in the books preceding Matthew. 

In January, we decided that we needed to read through the whole Bible.  It is pretty convicting to think that after 3 years in full-time vocational ministry, I have yet to read the whole Bible, cover-to-cover.  Honestly, it has seemed like a pretty daunting task.  We usually study a book of the Bible every semester and one during the Summer Beach Project.  Adding on to that, reading through the whole Bible has just seemed overwhelming.  The ministry we work for taught both hubby and myself how to study scripture.  This is a gift that I am so thankful for.  I spent my years in college getting to know Jesus through His word by learning how to use cross-references and studying how passages in Luke related to those in Romans.  But this also means I have not spent a large amount of time just reading God's word.  I am thankful to say, one month in, we are on track! 

It has been so refreshing to just read the stories of God's faithfulness to His people.  The Bible is a truly amazing story of how God is redeeming His own.  There is more knowledge, wisdom and hope found in its pages than we will ever come close to exhausting!

  So here is my encouragement...join with us in reading through the Bible in a year!  Go find out what God has to say about...life!  May it be a decision that God uses to help you learn more about His faithfulness, love, and gracious will!  It only takes about 15-20 minutes a day.  I have decided to wake up earlier than the rest of my family (if only 20 minutes, as this morning was!) to meet with God.  Thank you GirlTalk for the encouragement!  I know that I need this time with Him to be the wife, mother and friend He calls me to be.  He promises that His word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11)!  Trusting in that!

Where in the world have we been?

Traveling hasn't slowed down for us!  We are in a season of support raising which requires a lot of traveling and flexible scheduling.  It can be difficult with a baby, but we have amazing parents who just love for us to go out of town so that they can spoil Eden with merry-go-rounds and ice cream! 

In the middle of our last support trip we got an amazing opportunity to spend some time with some of our current supporters.  Where you ask?

 

The Lord gave us a big gift in the midst of some crazy travel!  We were so thankful to see the Colts hand it to the Jets (as Dolphin fans we have a bit of hostility toward them).  This officially makes us Colts fans.  So if you need us on February 7th...we will be cheering so loud that they can hear us in Miami!  GO COLTS!! 

Hope for Haiti

I have a dear friend and sister in the Lord that has been a faithful missionary to orphans in Haiti for many years now.  Last night Clint and I saw the first few glimpses of the news and my heart sank.  "The worst earthquake in 200 years" was all I heard and began to cry.  Port au Prince is the city that the workers of the orphanage go into frequently.  I expected the worst, and we prayed. 

News came this morning that the orphanage was spared, and its inhabitants were shaken up, but safe.  My heart was torn with much joy for their lives and home, and great grief as the estimate of lives lost hit 100,000. 

Please continue to pray as the relief efforts push forward.  Many are still missing and communication is very difficult within the country. 

Please pray for those who are searching for loved ones!  Pray that the Lord would send relief from outside sources to restore Haiti to health, and ultimately to Himself.

Pray for wisdom and grace as the workers at Hope for Haiti reach out into the devastation as many children have lost parents as a result of the earthquake. 

If you feel led to give please see this website.  http://www.danitaschildren.org/ 

W

My mom recently bought me a subscription to Cookie magazine.  It's a sort-of rich mommy magazine.  I enjoyed it most of the time, though 90% of the clothes in it were wildly overpriced.  It gave me some good ideas to go look for in TJ Maxx.  And I like to think it was keeping me trendy (something I have struggled to be since becoming a mom...or college student!).

But recently, I received a notification that Cookie would no longer be in publication. Though a little disappointed, it was nothing like getting the notice that Wondertime would be done!  So the nice people at Cookie decided to send me W magazine instead.  The note attached to my last issue said that they knew I would love W.  It is a magazine for the affluent, cultural fashionistas of the world.  Clearly, they know me well.

A few days ago I received my first issue of W.  Jennifer Garner posing on the front in a beautiful orange dress.  So I opened and began investigating this W.  On one of the first few pages there was a blurb about what Miss Garner was wearing.  Cartier necklace...450,000 dollars!  Why is that even listed?  Does anyone see that and say "Oh! Thats EXACTLY what I want for my birthday!"  What in the world?  And that's where I stopped.  Oh well....it was fun while it lasted.

As for that necklace...If anyone is interested in buying it for me:  be warned, I will take it to a pawn shop...and buy a few houses with it.

A Workout Partner

If you have made the New Years resolution (as millions have) to exercise more, listen up.  I have ground breaking news that will help you be successful!  It is no secret that having a partner, someone who is motivated and not too nice to make you do something you don't want to do, will help you stick to your goals.

But heres the advice you've probably never heard...  Just two steps to success!

1. Buy a Wii Fit 
2. Let your 14 month old watch you use it ONCE

She will, and I mean WILL, hold you accountable to use it at least once a day...if not multiple times.


Happy exercising!

I hate carrots...

Not cooked ones, I have grown to like those.  But raw carrots taste like dirt to me.  I was never one of those girls who snacked on raw carrots and celery (which I also hate) before practice.  No matter how mind-over-matter I can get, I just can't eat them.

However, my sweet husband bought me a juicer for Christmas.  I have been wanting one for a little over a year, but because of mixed reviews on any under the $200 mark, I refused to buy one.  He researched, bought the Jack Lalane Power Juicer Pro, and proudly presented it to me on Christmas morning.  Because of our crazy December, this morning was our first attempt at making a little concoction.

We threw some fruits and veggies in and viola!  Beautiful, tasty juice!  We are hoping that this juicer helps us get up to the 5-9 fruits and veggies a day mark!  Call it a New Years resolution, heres to better health!

Our fave (and only) recipe?
2 carrots and one navel orange per person.

Give it to the carrot-hater in your life.  Their eyes will thank you!

If you have never heard of Barbara Barker...

I am happy to introduce you!

Until this past summer, neither had I. On our annual Summer Beach Project this summer, everyone read the biography of Barbara's husband, Frank. Frank is a PCA pastor from Birmingham AL, the PCA pastor that is responsible for starting Campus Outreach. For us, full-time employees and stateside missionaries for this organization, reading about them was very exciting. Clint and I spent time many nights reading aloud the biography of this wild pilot turned pastor. We were enamored with the stories of amazing faith, huge prayers, and abundant grace the Lord seemed to pour out on this man and wife.

A few days ago, Frank and Barbara joined us in DC to speak to our students. They told the story of how Campus Outreach got its start, and pricked the hearts of hundreds of college students who are now asking “Could the Lord use me to do something like that?” We pray that the answer is yes.

It was this place, the New Years Conference (then held in Atlanta), that Clint and I both had intimate interactions with the Lord over what He could do in our lives. It was this conference (and John Piper) that kept Clint from transferring colleges to play football, which eventually led to our meeting (thank you, Mr. Piper!). It was here that I first got a glimpse of what walking with the Lord in community looked like. A glimpse that eventually led me to transfer schools to be discipled. That move changed my life. The Lord really uses this time. He has uniquely blessed it. And we are thankful.

But, back to Barbara. Yesterday, all of the staff wives had a chance to meet with Mrs. Barker to talk about how she has managed life, ministry, children (3 in 2 1/2 years!), and being a man in ministry’s wife. She proceeded to tell us her story. Most of it, I was on the verge of tears. Partly because I felt understood, partly because I found great hope for my life in her words. When Barbara was 25, she had given up a ballet career to marry the man she loved. She was not a Christian at the time. In that season, he became a Christian, and broke up with her. She tried to commit suicide. In her recovery, her sister led her to Christ. She spent 4 years honeymooning with the Lord only to move back to Birmingham and marry that very same man.

But that man, let her down. She put her hope in her marriage, and he loved his church. She became resentful and hopeless. One day while her 3 babies were sleeping she cried out to the Lord. In her distress this verse came to her “for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that could hold no water”. She says that that day, her life changed. She repented of her infidelity to the Lord in her heart, and began a new life of looking to Him to satisfy her needs and loving her husband out of the overflow.

Now, why does this give me great hope? I am 25 years old. Jesus has been my Lord now for 7 years. I am very young in my faith, yet, I am in full-time ministry. I live with a perfectionism that whispers the lie that I must have it all together before I take a step of faith, teach anyone, or give of myself. And this woman, through a book, had become a hero to me. And now, I sit listening to the ways the Lord humbled, loved and poured out His grace to her. At my age she tried to take her life and finally gave it up to the Lord. My flesh and satan keep me from hope. I read stories about people like the Barker’s and I think “I will never be that godly, influential, etc.” Oh, but truth drowns out the lies when I hear a 73 year old (extremely godly) woman say “I have been a Christian for almost 50 years, and the same self I battled then, I battle now. But I am better.”

I have no idea what the Lord has in store for us in the next 5, 10....50 years! But I do know one thing. Barbara Barker is a testimony of the Lord’s grace. He is faithful, and He is committed to us no matter the depths of our sin and struggles. Praise the Lord for you Barbara! Thank you for your perseverance, your hope, your submission to your husband and your Lord. You can not imagine the impact you have had on countless lives. You have indeed been a messenger of the Lord’s grace to this ministry wife!