Football season is here!

Can't wait to watch Holley cheer her first home game of her senior year tonight. A lot has changed since c-team! Excited to kick-off football season :) Looking forward to next Thursday night for my Gamecocks! 

C-team

C-team banquet '08-'09

C-team '08-'09

Varsity Freshman Year  (not my photo)

Varsity Junior Year

 GO WILDCATS and GO COCKS!!! 'Tis the Season!

My Sister the Senior

Dear Holley, 

How are you already a senior in high school? Where did the years go? Our incredibly sentimental family is preparing for a bittersweet year as we watch you wrap up your days at Lexington and look towards college. It will be a year with lots of lasts. We will watch you cheer, compete and take your first day of school picture at our front door for the last time. Though this year will inevitably bring changes, we are all so excited to see what unfolds for you! Your future is undoubtedly bright and we know the Lord has BIG, WONDERFUL plans for you.

We will continue to pray that the Lord guides you very specifically in everything your hand touches. You do well whatever you put your mind to-- and that is certainly a gift from the Lord. I wish Dad could see the beauty you are to behold. Your kind, pure heart ministers to me on a daily basis and I know he is smiling down on you from heaven with pride. 'Tis no surprise that your first day as a senior falls on none other date than the 22nd.

Happy Senior Year, Little Girl! I hope this year exceeds your wildest expectations. We are all so proud of you and look forward to making memories with you as a high school senior!

Baby Noah

Ryan and I are proud Aunt and Uncle to the newest addition of the Fickle family: Noah Philip Fickle. Rachel gave birth to this little 5-pounder on July 24th. We took a quick trip to NC to visit them yesterday. Noah is a sweet blessing from the Lord. And big brother, Jacob, is as cute as ever :)

 

((Psalm 127:3)) 

Children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him

I have been a part of a Thursday night Bible study all summer long with an awesome group of women from CIU. My dear friend, Abbey, hosted our group in her home each week... Welcoming us with warm cookies and coffee and sending us home with the kind of wisdom only Abbey can impart.

In our time together, we studied the book of 1 Peter. Each week we unpacked sections of every chapter and discussed what these verses must have meant to the people then and the practicality for us now.

Unfortunately for Peter, he is most often remembered for denying Christ. In Matthew 26:34, Jesus warns Peter: "Truly I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And sure enough, Peter denied the very Lord who selected him to be one of his closest friends. 

What I like about Peter is that he's so much like me. He represents us, the forgiven sinner, so well. He, at times, had little faith but was always rescued and redeemed by Jesus. Peter, an avid fisherman, was on his boat one day and saw Jesus walking on the water. "Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?'" (Matthew 14:29-31). 

Oh, if I could count the times I imagine Jesus has questioned my doubtfulness! Doubtful about His plans for me, my relationships, my current state of life. I sometimes relate to Peter a little too well. I often take my eyes off of Jesus miraculously walking across the water and focus on the storm; the wind. Just like Peter, my doubt, self-reliance, fear, and faithlessness causes me to sink. And every time, without fail, Jesus reaches his hand to me and pulls me back up. It's a story of redemption, for Peter and for me. A wayward disciple turned ambassador for the Gospel. In the end, Peter was crucified upside down on a cross because he felt unworthy to be crucified the same way as Jesus.

Peter's story of redemption is like mine... ours. God does not leave us the way we are. He chastens us and refines us by fire so our lives can be a better reflection of Him. A reflection of Him even through suffering! Peter shares so much insight from his humble heart in this book. He urges us to "be holy as He is holy" and reveals in 1 Peter 1:3-4  the only hope we have as Christians: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade."

I am thankful for the time I was able to devote to Bible study this summer and for a message I will not soon forget. 

((1 Peter 1:8-9))
Though you have not seen him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Wistful Wednesday

My parents shaggin' on our cruise to the Bahamas (2006).

Honduras

Ryan and I are back safe and sound from a week-long mission trip to Honduras! Our church sent 25 team members to Jalaca, Honduras from July 7-14 to minister at New Life Children's Home. We had a wonderful week getting to know each other, loving on the sweet children, and serving the Lord. The men spent most of their time on a construction project and the women led something similar to VBS, distributed shoes, organized supplies, and helped wherever necessary.

This was my first trip out of the country and it grew me in lots of ways pretty quickly. Seeing how these children live and how desperate they are for love helped put my world into perspective. It was nice to unplug for a week and concentrate solely on our mission. I didn't think about work, my endless to-do list, or any other seemingly "important" items on my agenda at home. Being in Honduras showed me how rewarding it is to live simply- to focus on Jesus and victorious Christian living- and to stop majoring on the minors. When you encounter children who have never owned a pair of shoes... you realize the things that stress you out are trivial. When you briefly live in a place without hot water, frequent power outages, mice scurrying through the walls, and no air conditioning... you realize how blessed you are and learn not to take anything for granted.

I am incredibly grateful for the privilege to serve with my husband.  I am more in love with him than ever before. The Lord has done amazing things in our lives and in our marriage over the last several months and being able to minister with him has given me pure joy. It was also great to bond with my church family and get to know them better. I will be forever thankful for the opportunity to serve in Honduras and for the ways the Lord has changed me in preparing for and serving on this trip.

Riding the bus from the Honduras airport to the village. Officially awake for well over 24 hours at this point.

Tegucigalpa

Our room for the week

 

Shelly Maria. Not to be confused with Shelley Marie. :)

Sandra loved Ryan-- would not let go of his neck!

Sweet Miguel

The men working hard on the dorm

The supplies we brought for the kids

Waiting on church with Emily 

Ryan preaching at the first church service with a translator. One of the best parts of the trip!

Haiti the model

Crafts with the boys... making masks

Yenni... stole my heart

Chalk is fun!

Ryan and David mixing cement for the girl's dorm

Ryan and Jason :)

 

Shoes we brought for the kids

Miguel excited about his new, clean shoes!!

Mrs. Jennifer telling a Bible story

 

Feeding brigade for the local Hondurans

Put my spiritual gift of organization to work in the supply closet :)

Ryan wrote our initials in the cement <3

"Bertha" aka the cement machine that did not like to work

 

Maria... one amazing woman!

Erika and me on the last morning

The wonderful Barnes family

Kendra and me