HOME!!

5 words:
Sammy and Gino are HOME!

Can't wait to meet them...

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart"

Psalm 37:4

Pretty happy it was the desire of HIS heart, too!

FRA Bowl

Hi.  It's Carly... taking over Mom's Blog.

hi  i m not carly im the head leader of Florida Reading Associates [FRA]our team got first in in the FRA Bowl on the 20th of january. my team thought we were'nt going to win, it came down to a tie breaker.  But we won!  I felt bad for the other team because they said the wrong answer and started crying.  But I felt good for us that we won. 

So Far, So Good...

It's best to begin at the beginning... unless we are talking Long Race... then the END is the best part!

The Finish Line...

Ryan told me a week before the marathon to make a "Mile 26" playlist on my ipod.  What a clever man, it was a GREAT idea!  It really got me through Mile 26, which I ran the whole way!  Well, I did stop ONCE to tie my shoe (ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!??! Don't think I didn't squat down REALLY FAST to tie it, and as I'm tying it I thought "WHAT was a I thinking?!?!  I REALLY hope I can get back up again!" HA!)  When I started this last mile, I SO BADLY needed to get to the finish, I ran the whole way.  This after NOT having run for the past 5 miles.  At all.  When I saw the  "Mile 26" mile marker, I know I laughed right out loud, I was so very happy... I quickly sent a text to Ryan "26!!!!" so he would know I was coming.  Hi-Five'd a volunteer who said, "You are doing great!" and this is what was playing in my ears... "So Far, So Good" by Truth:

It's getting harder to remember feeling lost and lonely
cause it seems we've been together for so long
but I've been living in the moment
so I never stopped to measure
all the miles that pass the places where we've gone
but when I try to count the ways your love has carried me
it doesn't take me very long to see...

that we have come so far,
you have been so good,
when I trace the road that we have travelled
I've got to tell you, Lord
I look at where we are, and see where I could have been
I need to say again: You've been so good
who would have guessed that we would come so far?

Then, this part was playing when I turned the corner and the Finish Line was a straight shot!  Of course I was singing and yelling "I DID IT" and generally being a complete dork:)  I'm ok with that.

There may be others who have wondered
why you kept on believing
in the person that You knew I could become
but even though I wasn't worthy
You're the One who's love was faithful
to complete the work in me that You'd begun
I don't know all the mountains that are left for us to climb
but I know when I reach the end I'll find....

we have come so far, you have been so good...

Totally ran around people to High Five Donald...

Right after crossing the Finish, I saw Ryan, and yelled to him "I DID IT!!!  I DID IT!!!"... I love this picture of us yelling at each other:)  It was such a fun moment, and I was really excited to finally (7 hours, 1 minute, and 29 seconds after starting) get to STOP!  And, I was really excited about accomplishing something so NOT ME, and realizing that the only way I could have done it, was with God.  Loved that.  Right after I got my medal, I leaned against the fence and thanked the One who is so very faithful.... 

Miles 20-25

Ugh.  These miles were really hard.  I will be honest and say that I was kind of worried about not finishing IN TIME mostly because I was getting so tired and going slower and slower.  I prayed a lot.  My ankle hurt.  I saw the "Pick up Bus" for people who couldn't finish and it scared me:)  Around mile 23 you go into Disney's Hollywood Studios... I really did NOT want to go!  No matter how much I tried to "re-live" the fun we had with the kids there last month, I did NOT love it.  I had a lot of heart-to-heart chats with myself, and was so very thankful when I finally entered the side gate into Epcot and the volunteer said, "Welcome Back to Epcot!" and there was Mile Marker 25!  That's when I started running again...

Almost to Mile 18

The Animal Kingdom... where my family was waiting for me. 

I was so glad to know they were going to be there!  I felt really good at this point, and I wasn't too tired, but I really needed to see them!  I'm so thankful they were able to be there... here's a photo credit shout out to my brother, Steve, who took the above picture and many of these, also.  Also, my dad and Laurie took LOTS of pictures.  (Is that good, Steve?) 

I really appreciated my sister Laurie coming down from NH with her girls to be with me... I called her back in March to ask her to come because we needed someone to take care of Ben and Carly for us.  I wasn't sure if my Nomad Parents would be in the country or not, and well, let's be honest, I needed my big sister with me.  Turns out, my parents WERE able to come, and my brother, too, which really made it nice for us to have such a support system.  And Rodney.  Ryan's best friend.  I say he was there for Ryan (since I had a posse of my own!), but really, he helped us BOTH with encouraging text messages during the race, plus he took Ben and Carly into the Animal Kingdom for a little fun while waiting!  THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of you! 

Mile 10 The Magic Kingdom

Ok, so fun!  By the time I was running into the parking lot of the Magic Kingdom, it occurred to me that this was going by REALLY fast!  Not just saying that because it's over!  There was so much entertainment along the way and just the excitement of everyone around me, it was truly going by quickly.  I heard someone running past me tell their friend, "Soak it all in, just enjoy every moment of this!" and that really stuck with me.  Also very fun, when you run into a new park, the workers at the gates hi-five you and say, "Welcome to The Magic Kingdom" or where ever you are... HA!  That was fun for me!

Pictures I took with my cell phone... I stopped to take pictures!  It was just such a cool experience, I couldn't help myself.  The top left is running down the street into Tomorrowland.  Running through my mind was all the times I came here when I was little, and particularly going with my BFF Sue.  Next is Space Mountain, then a shot of running down Main Street towards the castle.  The park was not yet opened when I ran through, so it was pretty fun to be there when it was so deserted (except for the workers cheering!)  Bottom row, running through the castle!  Reason enough to run this marathon.  Especially if you are a Disney nut, like I believe I must be.  The middle shows the men dressed in Cinderella livery on the balcony, heralding our arrival with trumpets.  Lastly, I turned around for one more shot... 

The Start...

Ryan and I got up at 3:15am, got ready and were on the Marathon Bus at our resort (Pop Century) by 3:45am.  There was a video playing on the bus with last minute marathon information.  It was FREEZING outside.  No really, like 25 degrees.  We had an old blanket and left over mylar heat blankets from his previous races to keep us warm.  We were actually pretty warm while we waited to get going.  For 2 hours, we stood around, talking and laughing.  It really kept me calm being with Ryan, I know I would have been too nervous if he weren't with me!  We ate chocolate covered coffee beans and cliff bars to get our energy going for the race.  Finally, we made our way to our starting corral and enjoyed the festivities with everyone else who was running.  Fireworks heralded the start of the race, and we were off.  First park, Epcot.  While I was running through, I thought to myself, "When I'm back here, it will be to finish!"...

Back to the FINISH

After crossing the finish line, getting my medal, and thanking God, I stood around waiting to see Ryan and the fam.  This woman came up to me and said, "Honey, your shoe is untied, I'd hate for you to fall after running!" and I said, "it's ok, I'm waiting for one of my kids to tie it for me, I might not be able to get up again!" and she offered to do it for me, which I let her since she hadn't just run (yes, I checked with her first...) so RANDOM lady, THANK YOU for tying my shoe! 

and a close up of those medals:

Ryan got the Mickey marathon medal, a Donald 1/2 marathon medal, plus this one for the Goofy Challenge...

He's pretty proud of this one!  For 39.3 miles, he should be! 

Kristin and Laurie, who stayed very cold for us!

Laurie and Amanda.  After this, Laurie took her girls, and Ben and Carly to the Magic Kingdom for a fun afternoon. 

The Night Before...

Ok, now you know why there are titles in this post... I'm jumping all around!  The night before, we ate dinner at the Olive Garden (tradition!) then the kids made posters for us...

Kristin made this one...

Ben made this one for Ryan... it was a pretty well known fact I just wanted to finish!  I appreciated the "Tick Tock" in the upper right corner:)

Whew!  Fantastic memories!

... the Race marked before us

My heart has been so heavy these past few days regarding Haiti and our friends, I have held off saying "much" about my Marathon Adventure. I decided today, I needed to Celebrate a little, because the whole PROCESS helped me fix my eyes... as you will see.

There are 2 reasons I signed up (in February of last year!) to WALK the Disney Marathon... #1, I wanted to a take on something so much bigger than I thought I could achieve, and #2, I wanted to do something with Ryan. In fact, I signed up BEFORE discussing it with him, and when I told him "What I had done", he started crying. Either he thought I was going to die, or he was really touched that I wanted a part of something that was so important to him. Truth be told, I got it in my head to do it in about 3 seconds, and it was one of those very annoying moments in my life where this happens, and I go, "Oh man, now I HAVE to do it..." This is also how I "decided" to become a nurse, and how I grew out my bangs. In the end, all good decisions! Anyways, I think based on those tears, I told Ryan that I really wanted to keep it between us, and that I really just wanted HIM to help me and encourage me along the long road ahead. That was a GREAT decision, and one that REALLY added so much to us both, personally.

The great thing about "Training" for something like this, is the amount of time it takes! Notice, I said "GREAT THING"... I say this because I had so much time "by myself" where I really had to focus and had time to think. This was so amazing! I spent hours talking to God about EVERYTHING... and I guess just growing. I needed this so much. Each week that I was able to increase the distance I walked/ran (note: very little running, mind you... I'm NOT a runner) I was thankful for the strength to do it... really. I learned first hand about the value of scripture memory... which I completely stink at. Many times while running (ok, I'm calling it RUNNING now because it just sounds WAY cooler) I needed encouragement DESPERATELY to continue on and that I could do "This"... verses that I learned when I was little would fill my head and I would be so frustrated because THAT is what I needed (and certainly couldn't RUN with a Bible in my hands!) and my "supply" was SO limited! I want to lock more into my head now, for just this reason. The whole PROCESS over these many months was an awakening, if you will, and I'm more thankful for that than to be able to achieve any goal that I set out to accomplish nearly a year ago.

OTHER things I learned "along the way"...

When it's lightening out, I can, amazingly enough, run VERY fast. While praying. Out loud. There were MANY days I had to do my "long RUNS" in the rain because I was VERY limited to the day I could actually do them due to my crazy work schedule. One particular day turned into a pretty nasty storm, and I was running at Flatwoods and was the furthest away from my car that I could possibly be, and 6 miles short of my 16 mile goal. I am pretty THANKFUL for a Ranger Rescue that day! Also thankful that I was so annoyed to have to stop at 10 miles because I was feeling REALLY good (minus the near heart failure over the lightening).

RUNNING with Ryan is a complete disaster. We decided to "have some fun" and do our 18 mile run together. We got the kids to my mom the night before, and got an early start one Saturday morning. Ryan was perfectly happy to go at my MUCH slower pace. He was VERY patient with me, and of course, SO encouraging. Then he got entertaining. And made me laugh... then we were going REALLY slowly. And I wasn't focussing AT ALL (which is REALLY important for me when I'm RUNNING)... then we were talking so much and well, going EVEN slower. You get the idea. It was fun, but we both agreed we weren't doing THAT again! Certainly enjoyed going to Chili's afterwards, however!

Not So Random People are REALLY encouraging. Can't tell you the amount of times people were "randomly" outside their house when I ran by and "chose" to say, "Good Job!" to me as I trucked slowly past. So, to the lady taking her trash out... the kids waving frantically... the people backing out of their driveways who saw me JUST IN TIME... THANK YOU SO MUCH! One thing I've learned, you NEVER know when your seemingly random words of encouragement are really going to make someone's day!

Vanilla Goo is gross. If you ever ran more than 6 miles and had to eat it, you know what I'm talking about. And you agree.

Guardian Angels Exist. And mine has a Spanish accent. On the day I was RUNNING 22 miles, I pulled a crazy muscle in my calf and had to JUST walk starting at mile 15. Ugh. It was EXTREMELY slow going, and HOT. And I was tired. Oh, and I was way out in the middle of well, NoWhere. I was very discouraged and feeling so annoyed that it was going so poorly, and to be honest, having Marathon Anxiety. Around the 18th mile, I decided I had had enough. I leaned against a breaker box outside the wall of a subdivision... thoroughly discouraged. No kidding, a man went by me on a bike and said, "Hey! You can do this! Don't stop now!" (that quote is VERBATIM). I will be honest, my split-second thought was "easy for you to say, you are on a bike!" my NEXT split-second thought was, "Random isn't Random, so perhaps God sent someone my way to encourage me" and I dragged up whatever I could find and immediately started walking again. I promptly turned a corner in the sidewalk and saw before me a VERY long stretch of very empty sidewalk. With no entrances or exits, or roads leading off it for what looked like a mile. No biker in sight. It was meer seconds since he spoke to me. Yes, God sent Someone my way to encourage me. 2 miles later, on a very deserted section of road, a very Frightening-to-Me looking person was headed in my direction with a very, shall we say, lecherous look on his face. I was feeling pretty nervous when "Out of NoWhere" the GUY on the bike was suddenly heading my way as well... and the Creepy guy took off. THIS time, I noticed "He" was wearing a Cross necklace. (Which means nothing, but makes for a fun "end" to this story).

The Chipmunks make about the BEST running music. I know... just what you want to hear after a very spiritual Angel experience. But it's true... Plus, it made me think about my kids, which is ALWAYS inspiring! Ok, and Aerosmith, too. Which, for some reason, makes me think about Ryan. Go figure!

Mile Markers are Important! I HAVE to know where they were every time I go out to "Run". I need them to know how far I've come, how far I have left, to readjust my pace (FASTER!), and to stay "on course". Trust me, it was NOT lost on me how much this parallels my relationship with God. I feel like I need a Mile Marker tattoo'ed on my forehead most days! Or at least on my right hand, which I can see more clearly. Whenever I didn't know where they were, I got very lazy and went very slowly and had a very hard time keeping up with my goals. It didn't take me long to realize that I HAD to have them written down for every course I ran.

Nature is Amazing. I loved loved loved being out "early" in the morning... I saw some really amazing sunrises. And one morning, for some reason I was thinking about The Trinity (random thoughts) and 3 beautiful deer darted out onto the road! (Again, at Flatwoods, because WHERE ELSE in Tampa is THAT going to happen?!?!). It made me laugh right out loud, I was so startled by the humor in it! Anyways, I guess I'm usually so busy and distracted, that it was REALLY great for me to "have time" and a clear head to actally notice this goodness around me.

Nothing tastes better than a SLURPEE after running. Nothing.

Turns out, "Running" a marathon wasn't such a bad idea after all. For the amount of times I said, "Who's stupid idea WAS this?!?!" and for the times I said, "Ooooh, I really wish I was doing the HALF marathon!"... it was worth it in the end. Seriously? Burning about 2600 calories in one morning? And if for nothing else, than to realize this:

My husband has a Gift. And it's called "Encouraging the Wife". I guess he's always been that way, but honestly, I never needed it as much before, apparently. It started and ended with this: He believed in me. He sent me text messages EXACTLY when I needed them the most.

It is the image of God

that makes us try grand things,

to achieve our dreams,

to make ourselves better.

Came my way on a particularly hard mile. No kidding, it made me gasp it was so encouraging! It made me think hard for a really long time. You know, which I found entertained/distracted me for a few more miles! During the actual marathon, he sent them to me while he was running himself. He spent hours coaching me along and reminding me, "With man, this is impossible. With God, all things are possible." It was so great for me to be so encouraged by him, and to share something so intense with him, that we've already signed up to do it again NEXT year! Ok, ok... he's taking on the Goofy Challenge again, and I'm "just" doing the 1/2 marathon with him. It was such a great experience. No kidding.

Pictures coming soon... for now, I did not want to forget these really important lessons and memories.

Keep praying...

God is still God.  And He's still good.  All the time.

Please continue to pray for Tanya and her girls.  Roland did not survive the collapse of the building.  We are so heartbroken for them and for their family.  Pray for God's amazing comfort and for peace and strength in the days ahead.

Please pray for the Pearson's.  Some "not so random" events have taken place in the past 24 hours, and there is HOPE. 

"Let us hold unswervingly to the HOPE we profess... for He who promised is FAITHFUL"

Hebrews 10:25

Urgent Prayer...

Haiti.

You have NO IDEA how much I hate that this is so close to us.  I much prefer being able to be selfish and NOT let the news and media affect me.  How wrong is that?!!!  I much prefer being able to hold it at arms distance, and sit in my nice, comfy house and just shoot up a few "Random Prayers" as I see fit. 

I have mentioned our friends The Pearson's before...  and again HERE.... my co-workers have heard me talk about them in my attempts to get scrubs donated for the nannies at the orphanage where their sons live.  In Haiti.  Sammy and Gino are "OK"... but their orphanage was destroyed Tuesday.  They are living outside.  In a virtual war-zone.  These boys need SO DESPERATELY to be with their Forever Family.  Here.  In Tampa.  Please Please Please pray that their adoption will be expedited THIS WEEK!  That they can come home... please pray for Jen and Tim as they travel to Haiti next week to help with relief efforts and to be with their sons.  Pray for Zoe and Addie, their daughters. 

And this.

Four years ago, we had the privilege of having Tanya take care of Carly while I slept after working all night.  Her sister, Gina, is one of our friends from church.... Tanya was staying with Gina for the year, with her 3 little girls, while there were so many issues politically in Haiti.  Tanya taking care of Carly helped me out, and it helped her out.  Plus, as a BONUS for us, she was AMAZING with Carly... spoke French to her (which, somehow Carly seemed to understand and respond to!) and just loved her like she was one of her own little girls.  She gave her the nickname we still call her..."Carlita"

Please pray for Tanya and her girls tonight.  The building her husband, Roland, was working in, collapsed.  It is unclear what the outcome will be, but please pray for a miracle.  We serve a God who can move mountains and do the unimaginable. 

These pictures are from a very special day we spent with Tanya and her youngest (Carly's buddy), Emmanuelle.  We were at the Zoo, and Zoe happened to be there then too!  It is important to me that you see these little faces.  Pray for these girls tonight... one waiting for her father, and one waiting for her brothers.

and lastly...

Follow this link to the Pearson's Blog for more ways you can help, and for updates.

God is still God.

My Inspiration

Ok... After having a "Quick" marathon post yesterday that refected how God strengthens us for EVERYTHING we do, I wanted to turn your attention to The Man.  My husband!  He ran 39.3 miles this weekend, and in the midst of all of it, he encouraged and coached me... he calmed my crazy nerves and most importantly, BELIEVED in me.  You have no idea how amazing that was for me.

This weekend was the coldest we have ever experienced in all our years living in Florida.... Saturday morning, Ryan ran the 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles!) in temperatures that hovered around 29.  With freezing rain, and at the start line (at 6am!) SNOW.  Yes, the first time we had ever seen it here!  It rained the whole time... and yup, he was FREEZING!  He stuck it out, and finished in 2 hours and 44 minutes... That is so incredible to me! 


He felt so good afterwards that he took Ben and Carly to EPCOT for the afternoon!  I went shopping with my family:)  That night, we went to the Olive Garden for a Pre-Marathon Celebration meal... accompanied by my sister Laurie and her girls, who had come down to take care of Ben and Carly for us while we were running on Sunday.  My parents and my brother came along, also.  Ryan's best friend, Rodney spent the weekend with us, as well... he's been there for each of Ryan's marathon's!  He has an annual pass to Disney, so he had been able to hook up with Ryan INSIDE the parks for EXTRA running encouragement.  Really helps!

The next morning, we were on the "Marathon Transportation Bus" by 3:45am and were heading to the starting line!  I was REALLY thankful Ryan was with me, he kept me calm and pumped up and told me all kinds of Marathon Stories that I found completely entertaining!  It was cold, but we stayed pretty warm in our "throw away clothes" and blankets. 

After the START, Ryan took off to concentrate on getting a better time than last year.  We had planned that out, since my goal was just to FINISH.  He still sent me text messages to encourage me and called me to see how I was doing.  That really helped me so much!

Just before Mile 18, my family was waiting to see us... just outside the entrance to the Animal Kingdom. 

Unfortunately, because they were waiting to see ME, they did NOT get to see Ryan cross the finish line... but I know he didn't mind one bit!

Ryan crossed in 5 hours and 42 minutes... cutting about 18 minutes off his time from last year!  That is so great and a HUGE accomplishment!  I am so proud of him!

My handsome husband, with a BIG smile!

... and finally, settling in to wait for me! 

CONGRATULATIONS, Ryan!  I'm so proud of you... and I'm so happy that you now know EXACTLY how proud of YOU I have felt EVERY single time you have crossed the finish line, starting with your first 5K!

Really.

You might remember the end of this post.  The day before I ran (ok, lets be honest, mostly walked!) 20 miles.  For the first time.  Crazy.  Repeating this over and over, with each mile.

It goes a little like this:

I really can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I can really do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Really.

Philippians 4:13

Told ya a word was missing!

The picture above is ME crossing the finish line (directly after Hi-5'in Donald!) of the Disney Marathon.... 26.2 miles and 7 hours, 1 minute, and 29 seconds.  Respectively.  Didn't care how long it took, as long as I finished. 

Ryan did SO AMAZING this weekend, too... more about all of that, coming this week.  I really wanted everyone to focus on the truth of that verse.  I'm not a runner.  Really. 

I did, however, RUN across the finish line!

New Year, New Header

Disney Marathon.  This weekend.  My heart is literally trembling.  I can't wait to see Ryan wearing his medals... all THREE of them.  He's one of those Goofy People, who take on the Goofy Challenge.  He'll be running the 1/2 marathon (that's 13.1 miles, for people who don't REALLY have McGregor blood flowing through their veins) on Saturday morning... and a full marathon (26.2 miles) on Sunday morning.  I know, Math Whiz here.... that's 39.3 miles.  He's ready.  He's excited.  His eyes are fixed.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by

such a great cloud of witnesses,

let us throw off everything that hinders

and the sin that so easily entangles,

and let us run with perseverance

the race marked out for us.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy set before him endured the cross,

scorning it's shame,

and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1,2

Amazing verses... and something to dwell on for today:  YOU are the JOY that was set before Him... YOU being with HIM forever.  That's why he endured the cross.  For. YOU. 

So.  Saturday.  Sunday.  Oh, and if you look closely in the picture, you can see Ryan stepping over the finish line... white shirt, under the time clock on the right:)  Or click HERE for a reminder of last year's race.

THANK YOU RYAN for being such an amazing inspiration to ME, especially... No one has ever exhibited perseverance and commitment to me like you have.  You are the most encouraging person I know and apart from God, all I need.  I love you... and I'm so PROUD of you!

New House

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise

The City of our God,

The Holy Place

The joy of the whole earth.

Great is the Lord with whom

we have the victory.

He aids us against the enemy

We bow down on our knees.

And Lord we want to

lift your name on high

And Lord we want to thank you

for the work you've done in our lives

And Lord we trust

in Your unfailing love

For You alone are God Eternal

Throughout earth and Heaven above.

- Steve McEwan

Today we "Moved Into" our new church building.  We've been waiting for such a LONG time for this day!  Years.  They built it right beside our "old church", so we watched the slow progress and waited in anticipation.  I never went inside until today.  Lots of people (including my whole family!) went in for previews at various stages of progress... I wanted to wait until Today.  I'm not sure why, but I just really wanted my first time in there to be when we got to worship together with our whole church family.  And that was probably my favorite part of today.  The WHOLE family together.  We've had 2 services for the last many years, and today, we were able to go back to ONE service.  It felt complete.  Loved that.  I understood completely why Ryan's Mom really wants us to come home for Christmas every year.  All together. 

This is the bell tower.  I took these pictures yesterday, when Ben practiced ringing the bell.  He was chosen to be the first official Bell Ringer to call everyone to worship.  This is our Pastor, Lou... and the call to worship that began with the bell... I thought it was really moving.

and the view from outside... Ryan took this with my cell phone:

And looking up into the bell tower...

Next we sang "Lift High the Cross" they started bringing in things from the "Old Sanctuary" to show that this is where we worship now... the cross that sat on the Communion table, the bible for readings, the Communion elements (bread, juice), and the fabric that hangs over the lectern... not sure what you call that.  It was all so moving, and my pictures are TERRIBLE because I was so emotional, my hands were shaking.  You have no idea how long we've been waiting for this!  So I stole these pictures off Debbie Warren's facebook page:)  Thank You Debbie! 

                                       

Micah carrying the cross....

                                      

                                          

                                              

Dick Mayer laying out the bible...

                                          

                                         

This is the Prayer Chapel that is in the sanctuary... you can see where it is in the coming pictures.  It is so quiet and peaceful in here.  It's an oval shaped alcove, and there are candles lit... we went in after the service and said a prayer of thanks for our little family!

                                    

The back side of it, and that is the entrance on the right.

                                                

After the service... there are many design elements that were added in for their theological meaning.  Such as the 14 hanging lights leading up to the cross, which represent the stations of the cross.  I will get the rest all wrong, so I won't even try to say what they are, but I do know that it was all well-thought out and purposeful. 

                                         

The guy in the red shirt is Ryan!  And you can see the stone wall of the prayer chapel on the right.  It is right off to the side in the sanctuary.

                                 

And because I thought it was cool... the sink in the women's bathroom!  HA!  Very fun.

                                     

The outside courtyard, and the door on the right is the Old sanctuary, which is now the fellowship hall where the coffee is!  It was a fun day and we are so thankful for this new building to worship in... it's JUST a building, but it sure is nice!!!