I was given a gift today...

2 o'clock this afternoon. I was doing laundry and walked outside and heard a very strange noise coming from the canal. So I walk down to the water, and it's a dolphin!!! I love dolphins; I think they are so beautiful and smart. It was like a little present for me on my day off. I loved it! Thanks, God :)

We had our infamous Trunk or Treat last night at the church. I think a couple thousand people showed up, which is surprising because we did not advertise like usual. There is a major blessing behind that, too...
We bought about 6 FULL buggies of candy from Target on Tuesday and ended up taking all of it back on Tuesday night. Pastor Laura had contacted our local Food Bank and they had over 1,000 lbs of candy they were willing to give us for only a couple hundred dollars. WOAH. Like we always say down here, "Ain't that just like the Lord?!?"
He definitely came through for us financially. With the economy being the way it is, some people just didn't have the money to sponsor this event. But, we were trusting and knew that it was going to happen one way or another. And it did!! It was a blast, too. Not as big and grand as the years past, but I still believe that our community was blessed.

We are starting a series this Sunday in Children's Church called "Give Big". Pastor Rick, our senior pastor, wanted November/December to be months that are all about giving. So while he is challenging the adults to give willingly, cheerfully, and obediently, we will be challenging our kids to do the same. We believe that giving our time, our talents, and our testimony is just as important as the amount of money we can give. So we will be serving our community in some creative ways!
Pray for us as we equip our church family and teach them about the blessings and fulfillment that come when you place God as number 1- totally in-charge of not just your finances, but your life!

Another thing we have going on, to add to the list (ha!) is Allies. It's an afterschool Bible club that we are able to do at our Elementary, Middle, and High School campuses. Of course, our department only goes to our 2 local Elem. schools, each on a different day, every week. It's pretty much our favorite thing. We get to spend time with kids who go to different churches in our area, and we also get to minister to children who are not involved in church. It is such a great opportunity God has given us. Will you continue to lift us up in prayer- we would like to begin this club at another school in our county, but with just Pastor Colleene and I, it's too much to handle. We need volunteers!! And that there would be PEACE. We've had to get majorly organized, which we are learning to be good at, and we just want this to not be a burden on our school system. Praise God that we have amazing principals and teachers that allow it to be done!

Thanks everyone. I'll update again in the next week or so!