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!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
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! :)
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! :)
Monday, March 1, 2010
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. :)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
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!
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!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
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!!
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?
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
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/
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/
Monday, January 11, 2010
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.
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.
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