Need I Say More?

Um...this pretty much says it all. Think I know what one of my New Year's resolutions will be :)

Too long~

As always, I have been a complete slacker on my blog. Could bore you with the details of why, but just thought I would let you know through videos of what has taken place in our lives for the past couple of months. My husband has been doing weekly video blogs on our "Wizard of Oz" production back in November as well as "Aladdin," which took place during December. If you have some time this week while you are waiting for the New Year to approach, I would encourage you to watch these entertaining vidoes. Kudos to my husband...he does it all! Maybe a goal of mine in 2012 will be to blog a little better : ) We shall see. Hope you have a very blessed New Year!

Weekly video blog

So my husband is doing a very fun/informative weekly video blog of what takes place "behind the scenes" at the theatre where we are so richly blessed to work. Stay tuned for his updates as I will continue to post them~ I think you shall like it! : )

Be the Centre~

Jesus, be the centre
Be my source, be my light
Jesus

Jesus, be the centre
Be my hope, be my song
Jesus
Be the fire in my heart
Be the wind in these sails
Be the reason that I live
Jesus, Jesus

Jesus, be my vision
Be my path, be my guide
Jesus

Narnia August 4-7, 2011

You HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE to come see this show! Did I mention you HAVE to come? The costumes and scenery will seriously blow you away! Everything made from scratch. Yep, that is my ingenious husband along with his talented team. Please come...it's worth your time and the inexpensive ticket! : )

A reminder~

I was given a huge reminder this morning from David Kubal, President of Intercessors for America, as he spoke at a conference at The Inn over the weekend, and was reminded of the importance of praying for our nation. I get so complacent sometimes in my own little world. I know I don't pray for this nation as I should. He brought about a really great point that sometimes we sit back and wait for our leaders to make the changes, our mentality is sometimes, "well God, you are going to do what you are going to do anyway, so why should it matter?" In all actuality, of course God is going to do what He wants to do. He is God. But, he depends on His people and often requires us to make the move. Not our leaders (duh, they sure as heck don't have my dependency), but us! I wish I could write  just as he spoke , but it made me really look at my own life and ask myself, " Am I really taking the time to ask God how to not only pray for this nation, but what steps can I take to help save America?" Sure I pray this for country....I pray for His mercy and so on and so forth. But in each of us, God is waiting to unlock or perhaps reveal to us what our purpose is to help save America. I can't help but think there is something stirring inside of me that doesn't want to give up on this great nation. We have come too far to let it go and when it is all said and done, it is my responsibility that I do my part. No matter how small or how great, I have an obligation and by golly, I have got to own up to it!

Here is a quick video that puts the challenge before us. Thought it would be a good time to post as we are getting ready to celebrate the birth of our America!
Hope your have a wonderful 4th and pray the Lord will reveal to you what your purpose is in helping  save "Our America!"

I love the beach because...

Perhaps it's because we can stay in the pool as long as we want~

Or maybe it's because of the celebrations we have and can sing songs as loud as we want~

Perhaps it's our long walks we take in the evenings holding hands, singing, searching for clues, or just watching the guys play bocce ball till dark falls~

It could be because there are sisters, who are just sisters...laughing like there is no one else in the world~

Or the newly weds gazing into each other eyes (haha-cheesey, but precious)

Or maybe it's the slumber parties we have with our "silly drinks~"

But perhaps most of all it's because it's our little paradise~

And there are quiet moments to listen to this~

But best of all...we are just all together. Well, for the most part. The saddest part is he isn't there and I missed him like crazy. But maybe another year : (

G & D First Dress.m4v

Scotty is now video taping what takes place behind stage at our shows-

Guys and Dolls

Happy Weekend~

Hi all-
As usual, I haven't posted in awhle. Life is full, never dull, but I find myself either too tired, or assume a story isn't interesting enough to post, or let's just get down to the real reason ...the evenings when Scotty gets home, we sit and play "words with friends" and that is our down time now. So fun. He sits in his chair, I sit on our couch and we play back and forth and just have a fun time. Some couples play cards, some put puzzles together, we play "words with friends."
Anyhow, Scotty is in the middle of rehearsals for Guys and Dolls (June 23-26). You for sure need to come see it! It will be a WONDERFUL production. I am actually not in this show because my family goes on vacation during rehearsal time and I would have missed too many rehearsals, so I had to choose. It was actually a difficult decision believe it or not because Guys and Dolls has always been one of my all time favorites. Don't ask me why, but in college I became somewhat obsessed with it. I think because it was the first show on Broadway I had ever seen and from that moment on I was captured. But, "c'est la vie" as the French would say. I decided to go with a vacation instead, which I am super excited about. Our family has been going to the same place for the past 15 yrs. and it is truly a little heaven on earth. We love it! Of course, I am just plain ol excited about being with my family~ I get just as excited when all my family is together as Scotty does when he goes to Disney.
Many of you know there is a family who just joined staff at The Inn and they found out 2 weeks ago their little boy, Michael has leukemia. But, PRAISE THE LORD he is doing remarkably well and it has been such an amazing process to see how his parents along with the body of Christ have stood in faith for his healing. He had a huge mass on his chest, that is now completely gone. It looks like he will be coming home sometime next week. He will have to continue with treatment, but we are all rejoicing that he is being healed. So, if you think about it, please continue to pray.
The interns arrive at The Inn on June 8th. We are excited to see what the Lord has in store as families and young people walk through the Inn's doors. I love what takes place at The Inn during the summer in the lives of young people. I love to see how the Lord transforms these individuals lives and I love being a part of the process of knowing I am helping futher the Kingdom of God. Although I won't be as involved this summer, I know that the Lord has incredible things in store and I am waiting in anticipation to hear the testimonies and stories that will be told. If you know of a young person between the ages of 14-17 yrs. who would be intersted in attending a very exciting week, let me know or have them visit our website at www.heroesoftoday.com.
We continue to practically live at the theatre. Scotty is now the manager, so his work load has tripled, but his is totally in his element and loving it. He has such a passion for this place and it makes me excited to be around him and with him as he continues to live out his dream. God really is so good! We are just so blessed to be able to have a place like this in our hometown. There are still so many moments I will stop dead in my tracks and have to pinch myself to make sure it is real. I feel so grateful to be able to share this experience with my husband~ not to mention (because she is standing in my doorway and telling me I better being writing about her on my blog) that Rachel Alford is so cool that there just aren't words to describe her! She really has made me laugh all day today and I really am glad she is around for the summer.
Well folks, enough rambling for now. I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial weekend and enjoy all the hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, tator tots, baked bean, potato chips, pickles, corn on the cob, & homemade icecream that this world has to offer. I plan to-



My niece...

Ok, so I had to share two videos that I took of my niece, Gracianna while in Florida. I love love love this kid...did I mention I love her??? She got a hold of my phone and was video taping herself and we didn't know it. I have watched this a hundred times and have laughed hysterically. It may not be as funny to you, but I just had to share. Notice the part at the end of the video and she is stuffing french fries in her mouth and I guess they were too hot, so she spit them out and we had no idea.
The second video is just a little speech message I recorded of her...I told her to say something to the camera so when I miss her I can watch it-

Disney through different eyes...

Well, many of you know that my husband is an absolute...how do I say this???? DISNEY FREAK! So, most of our vacations are spent there, in which I am completely fine with. I had been to Disney once when I was younger, so my husband has opened my eyes to a whole new world of creativity, yummy food and shear madness of crowds.  I have grown to respect the "World of Disney" in ways I never thought imaginable. I used to ask Scotty( back in the day when I couldn't completely understand his obsession with this place), "Is it Mickey that you love so much?" He response, "No, Nikki...it is the fact that the creativity that lies within the walls is limitless." From then on I have tried to look through his eyes, past the madness of crowds and non-English speaking people, etc into his world of creativity and how it truly uplifts him. Yes folks, I am learning to grasp it myself. It has been a process, but as much as I hate to admit it, that place is completely growing on me~ there I said it! But, dear husband, if you are reading this...it doesn't mean that, well...you can read my mind!!!! haha! It truly is a magical place. I have grown to love it even more because I see how much my husband loves it~ The sky is the limit without a doubt~ plus, he totally and completely spoils me while I am there, so it is no wonder I have grown to love the place : )  Anyway,  my sister and her family planned a trip to Disney the same week  so I was able to experience Disney through a child's eyes~ Scotty and I giggled and laughed the whole time at their expressions when they met the characters, when they road the rides, when they bought souvenirs...it was such a fun experience! They were as good as gold which helped the day be even better.

Here are a couple of pictures of our time. I didn't take very many because I don't like carrying my phone while in the park(s), but the day we met up with my sister's family, I took a couple.
If you are ever looking to book a trip to Disney and don't know where to start and need some advice, please call! Our rate is not too terribly expensive : ) If you would like to take it one step further and hire a Disney Tour guide, we would love it! haha! Seriously, my husband is the best and will give you facts about that place that you would never hear otherwise. Every time we go, I learn something new from him and they are not corny facts. They are extremely interesting~
Hope you all have a fantastic week-
Nikki

Bagels...and then some!

Today
Me: " Scotty, I don't know WHY I'm eating so much today!"
Scotty: "Nikki, you always eat A LOT every day."
Me: "Yeah, but I don't usually start at 4am!!!"

Stupid thunderstorm! There was such an enormous flash of lighting that came through my bedroom window last night, it literally pierced through my tightly sealed eyelids and I thought my electric blanket had been struck and I had been fried in the only place I can ever rest! I just wasn't ready for that kind of rest, if you know what I mean. I think my whole body hit the ceiling and all I remember is yanking the cord so hard, all I could see were what looked like sparks coming out of the socket! Hmmmmmmm....I have such incredibly brilliant moments in my life. Needless to say, my heart was racing so fast, I couldn't go back to sleep. So I decided it might be relaxing to lie there and listen to the rain fall and the rolling thunder....you guessed it. It wasn't thunder, it was my stomach!So, breakast begin at 4 am and I promise it was one steady meal all day.

Here is hoping to a peaceful rest tonight....the kind where I dream about things like vacationing on a tropical beach or winning a million dollars and although I am in heaven in my dreams, I still wake up....not fried!
Why the heck am I still up?

One of those nights...

    Well. Here I am again. It's 3am and I've been awake since 2. Bummer. Scotty just fell asleep and at least I slept for 3 hrs but he, bless him, is just now going to bed. We mine as well have children because we are up anyway and I would rather be taking care of something precious than lying on the couch thinking of things I need to do, or shouldn't have done or whatever...oh well. C'est la vie as the French would say.
I have been reading several books by Francine Rivers. My friend Kim had told be about some of the books she has written on women in the bible and how she puts her own perspective on how she felt these women in bible felt during their journey. One of my favorite stories in the bible is the story of Ruth and Boaz. Francine Rivers wrote a book called, "Unshaken" about the journey of Ruth and Naomi and im telling you this book just sucked me right in. I used to read this story often in my single days (I know this is going to sound super cheesy) and it gave me both a sense of encouragement and hope that as long as I was in obedience to the Lord's calling in my life, the right man would come along. And happily I say, he did. :) but now that I am married I look at this story in an entirely different way. F. Rivers had such a way of expressing how Ruth sacrificed everything for the love of her husband and how she truly grasped the meaning of being his "helpmate." If Scotty were reading this, I'm sure he would crack up because "home ec" is not something that I thrive in. Like many of us out there, I tend to be more interested in conquering, well, you know the business of the outside world. I have no shame in admitting if we could afford it, I would have someone come and deep clean my tiny apartment once a month (or so) Isn't that just so vain? Doesn't bother me in the least to admit it. Personally, while working at The Inn, we do all of it and for the past 8 yrs I have scrubbed more toilets than you can count, cooked as many meals as any other person out there, so bravo for me....right? So why the heck would I want to do that when I get home? Oh,Nikki...what lessons there are for you to learn, still. I'm trying to grasp, in little bits and pieces, the true meaning of being my husband's help mate. Scotty rarely asks for a home cooked meal, after a long day at work, he doesn't come in and demand a clean home, I know he understands...but, isn't there such an overwhelming since of joy that I can provide that "haven" for my husband? Ruth did just that for Boaz. I am finding that it is not that we women can't have our own desires and dreams...it is just as important to the Lord as anything. But there are moments and seasons in life that we may have to drop a thing or two or more to be our husband's help mate. I used to and actually still do (again something I'm still trying to grasp a hold of) get a little uptight when Scotty would call and ask me to come sit with him while he is "creating" something or whatever. And I'd go and sit with him (which I love by the way) there would be times I would be thinking well, I know it would please him if he could walk into a clean home tonight after work, or I could go to the grocery store and cook him a meal, but what I'm finding out is he would rather me just be sitting in a room with him talking and enjoying each others company than me worrying about all that other stuff. And frankly...I enjoy that much more too! Haha! But being in a room together, even if I'm not accomplishing anything else, I'm with my husband and we are together in it. I think that is the key...we are TOGETHER in it. It is hard in this crazy world today to grasp the meaning of being "together."
   We live in such a day and age where it is all about pleasing ourselves and what makes "me" happy. We get so caught up in the "me" in life...what we don't realize it begins ruining our relationships. This goes for married or single ppl. It is hard work keeping a good relationship going. God never said that any good relationship is easy...it takes work. I want to work at my relationship with my husband because he us worth every bit of it!
   Wowzers....I don't know if I'm making sense because I know I have a long way to go in figuring this out. But my heart's desire is that I'm aware of it. And even when I act like a spoiled brat, (I do have my moments) I buck up a little and remember that one of the greatest joys in marriage is that we, as women, have the wonderful opportunity of being our husband's helpmate. I truly feel that is a glorious call!

Scriptures...

Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Ephesians 4:1-6 "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

It has been way too long!

Hello out there! It's me. Finally decided to write a blog. I've been up since 4am, my brain in spinning like crazy, so I decided to crawl out of bed, read some scriptures, and now post something. Life is good...just kind of the same ol' things, but those same ol things, I truly love! We are in the midst of rehearsals for the Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss show opening next week. It is such a fun show! I love it! We had Sound of Music auditions last weekend and Scotty will be posting the cast list tomorrow. I wait in anticipation just like everyone else, so waiting a week to find out what part you've been cast in is well, how do I say it....TORCHER! Haha! I'm selling ads for the Overlook playbills. It is interesting times we live in. I love being out and about in the community asking ppl to support what we do. The economy, no doubt, plays a big role in times like these, but it still amazes me how supportive our little town is, so I'm very grateful for that! The Inn is the corporate sponsor for The Sound Of Music in April and I'm super excited about this. Several ppl who are close with our ministry went over and beyond to make this possible and I'll be forever grateful! We have been trying to let our area know more about The Inn and what we do. We are an "international" ministry, so ppl from all around the world come, but ppl in our home town don't know exactly what we do. I feel this will be a great way to let ppl know in this area who we are and what we do and I am super excited to see what the Lord has in store!
  My brother Chan is getting married in 2 weeks and I'm crazy excited about the wedding and everyone being together! They will be married in Charleston, so it will be a beautiful time all around!
  Let see...what else? It seems like every day is full and I'm grateful for that. Last night after rehearsals I had so much energy I felt I was going to bust out of my skin! So, Camila was kind enough to go walking with me on the track. Ever since this past Fall when I had walking pneumonia three times, it has taken awhile for my energy to come back. I've had really good days and days where I felt I'm just doing nothing but pushing through a brick wall. It's interesting how I've felt my body progress at certain times and this week I feel as though I've hit a new level of energy. I'm praising the Lord. Scotty has been so good at reminding me and making me pace myself, so I'm very grateful for that! Speaking of....can I just take a moment to say how very proud of my husband I am? He is truly wonderful and honestly, he has been nothing but the best for me!
That's all for now. I'm typing this on a touch screen, lying on the couch with Jazzy cozied up in one arm completely snoring away, which leaves me with my other arm shoved in the couch with my finger poking out and it is officially cramping...ha! There is no telling what this post will look like!
May your day be filled with all the blessings in the world and may you know the Lord knows exactly what is going on in your life and He is there to carry you!

Sweet Surprise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happiest of birthdays to us! My sweet, crazy, wonderful husband gave me a surprise birthday party at the skating rink for our birthday! I am telling you it was crazy fun! What was more incredible is that my husband put all the focus on me, even though it was his special day as well! He is truly the BEST! I hadn't skated in years! He had about 65 people dress up in 70's attire (to celebrate the decade we were born in, um just in case you were wondering : ).  Is that not the coolest thing? It was great seeing all us adults skating like we were 10 again. I loved every bit of it. Thank you to everyone who came and gave up their evening to help make it extra special! I shall never forget it. I am truly looking forward to 35 now... and of course, Scotty is looking forward even more so to 40! : )

Jennifer in Haiti

One of my dearest friends in the world is back in Haiti for another month. Be sure to click on her link "Walking by Grace" posted on my blog list to get her updates on what is taking place in Haiti. Super proud of you, Jenn! Praying the Lord will guide you every step of the way!

This morning's devotional

I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions. I guess, the main reason being, setting goals for a whole year, well...some work and some do not. So, for the past probably 10 yrs or so instead of making resolutions, I turn my goals into prayers and make a small list that I pray for daily (or at least try to). I find when I commit things to the Lord instead of reasoning with myself, I get a lot further : ) My dad, every year, has our whole family sit down and he asks us, "if there is one prayer request you would want me to pray for you everyday this year, what would it be?" This has been something our family has done for years and we go around and say what our main prayer request would be for the year. This keeps our family accountable for praying for each other daily. I love it! So, by doing this, it has helped me turn my personal goals into prayers for the year. It doesn't seem so overwhelming when you are asking the Lord to help you. After all, is anything possible without Him? I do not think so.
Anyway, I downloaded a Charles Swindoll devotional off of Kindle this morning...it's one of those 365 day devotionals and I read the past 2 weeks devotionals to get myself caught up. Of course, one of the beginning devotionals was talking about New Year's resolutions, etc. Swindoll suggested that we take a look at Moses'goals in Exodus 20:3-17 as well as Peter in 2 Peter 1:5-8. Bare with me because I believe, if anything, it could serve as a reminder and perhaps some prayers for ALL of us!
In Exodus 20:3-17 (paraphrased)
Don't ever place substitute gods before the Lord your God. Don't make an idol of anyone or anything. Don't take the Lord's name in vain. It is holy. Remember to observe Sabbath rest every week. Honor and respect your mom and dad. Don't murder anyone for any reason. Never, ever commit adultery. Don't take things that aren't yours. Never lie or give false impressions. Don't covet another person's mate, benefits or belongings.
In Peter 1:5-8(paraphrased)
Be a diligent person. Do not waiver in your faith. Be known for uncompromising moral excellence. Enlarge your resevoir of knowledge;keep learning. Stay balanced; guard against extremes. Perservere. Make sure your godliness is free of hypocrisy. Treat others tactfully and graciously. Let your Christian love flow, let it flow, let it flow.
Charles Swindoll concludes by saying, " If you follow these list, two things are certain
1) You won't be the same person as last year. 2) You will never be bored."
Happy New Year...hope it is the best yet!

New Year...New Blog

So, I finally took the time to create a new blog. I was some what disappointed I had to create a new one, but it was something with my last blog and email that couldn't connect, so hopefully I won't have to worry about changing it again and hopefully I will be somewhat faithful in actually blogging. Looking forward to telling you all what is going on in our lives during 2011! Happy New Year!