Company Girl Shout Out! 4/6/2010

Olá!, minhas irmãs da menina da companhia!Como é você todo? Won' t você junta-se me para algum chá? (Hello my Company Girl Sisters! How are you all? Won't you join me for some tea?) Check me with the Portugese!  I am learning....oh so slowly, but enjoying the process! 

How are you girls these days? Life is going well for me! Have a seat and some CHOCOLATE quinoa breakfast brownies...oh man, these puppies are even better than the regular quinoa breakfast brownies (of course they are...they have more chocolate!) I missed last week so let me catch you up!

First of all, I want to say thank you to you girls for all your prayers. I was really struggling to put my breakout session together (talk about reinventing the wheel, ladies...it was a tough one for me) and struggled with a great deal of self-doubt and spiritual warfare last week. Your prayers were needed and felt so dearly at the crucial moment....thank you.  

As for the keynote and breakout I presented at the Jonesboro Young Professionals Network Leadership Conference, I thought they went well. I got great feedback, and met some outstanding people. I was blown away by the welcome I got, and just can't say enough good things about the group! I made new friends, and found new sisters and simply fell in love with the group.

Came home to choir practice in preparation for our Resurrection Sunday Presentation. I had a solo in the presentation, and simply did not feel prepared for it. Sunday went really well, though. We had record numbers in attendance and the presentation itself went nicely.  I think God was blessed by it...but you wanna know the coolest part? We had EIGHT baptisms! ON RESURRECTION SUNDAY! Oh man, it was awesome to join in celebration of the new life Christ gives us! 

This week has been a week of much needed rest. Taking my friend Mary Ann's advice, I scheduled myself off this week. Each morning during my prayer time, I have been asking for God to give me his priorities, his to do list for my day....WOW! It's been an amazing week of seeing how God is so present....ESPECIALLY in the little things. I won't share all the details with you because well...there are so many small ones...but suffice it to say I have been greatly blessed, refreshed and in awe of all that he does for us. I did get to work in my garden this week and God showed me this. It was an amazing day of reflection for me. And I am so grateful to my friends for reminding me that this time of rest is needed, and to my God who so graciously refreshes my weary soul and heart.

In homefront news, Xanman started baseball this week.  We will see how this all plays out, but for now, he is waking his father at 6 am to throw the ball.  Yep, that's right...the sun isn't even up yet.  I love it....love seeing his heart come alive with the joy of learning a new skill...it's been great to watch.  LizzieLou is doing quite well with her Vision Therapy and got a great report from her progress exam last week. We are definitely seeing big leaps in her reading levels. 

I am half way to my goal of $3500 for the International Life and Leadership Camp and have sold over 50 books! YAY! If you would like to donate, or to buy a book...just click on the paypal buttons in the sidebar! I would really appreciate your help!

So that's my life this past couple of weeks....what about yours? How is all going with you?

Company Girl Coffee 3/26/2010- SockMonkey Invasion!

Olá!! Meninas da Companhia! (Portugese for Hello! Company Girls! Can I just say that whoever told me Portugese was just like Spanish was SORELY mistaken! Well, come on in...I am actually NOT running out the door this morning, so perhaps you can stay for some tea and...wait for it....Triple Chocolate Fat Pants Cake....got your "fat pants" on? You'll need them AND and adrenaline injection to drag you out of the sugar coma that follows.  

Oh, man is this gluten free, vegan, and processed sugar free (don't get me wrong...there is a LOT of evaporated cane juice up in that mama), but Erin McKenna really out did herself with this one! This recipe is featured in her book, BabyCakes....and oh, wow...yummmmmm....Anyway, I would love to share a bit with you!


Let's see, why don't I catch you up on all the craziness?


Last week was my sister's wedding. We were so excited because the week leading up to her big day, weather was stunning! We are talking sunshine and 70 degrees! I actually wore flip flops and capri pants on FRIDAY! On Saturday, IT SNOWED! Welcome to Arkansas my friends, this is how it is! It didn't just snow a little bit....it snowed 12 inches! Insanity! They say rain on your wedding day is good luck...what about snow? Thankfully, we had talked her out of an outdoor wedding and the ceremony itself was unaffected...and absolutely beautiful.  There were so many wonderful moments and my baby sis looked so beautiful....I was so happy to be a part of that special day.  Hopefully, soon, I will share some photos with you!


ANYWAY, so I'm not sure if it was a combo of the three inch heels, the massive stress I put on myself the week before, or holding her EXTREMELY heavy dress up as my mom steamed the tulle, but I threw my back out! Seriously? Wow, laid up by high heels...not good. So I was on my back Sunday and Monday and am just today recovering full range of motion....thank goodness for my chiropractor who restored any motion at all on Monday...Needless to say, this week of spring break has not at all been what I expected.


Sunday is my big book launch party and I am super excited about it! Which reminds me...if you would like a book...all you gotta do is click on the button over there in the sidebar...be sure to fill out who you would like me to sign it to.


I am in full on fundraising mode for Inspired Girls Life and Leadership Camp and looking forward to the blessings that trip will bring to me and the girls. I can't wait. I am blown away by the outpouring of my friends and family. As a family of teachers, education is such an important part of our lives, to think that there are girls whose only obstacle is a $20 set of uniforms.  We can be the difference for them...we can change their lives! You can too! Just click the Donate button in the sidebar. I am about half way to my goal of $3500...  Every little bit helps! 


My Girls, I covet your prayers...I am seriously struggling with a speech I am writing for an event next week. Please pray that God gives me the words...and helps me supernaturally prepare for this event. 


OH...and now for the Sockmonkey reference! I am so excited...my Improv group (we're a fledgling comedy group), Sockmonkey, is having it's first annual weekend intensive this weekend...We have an experienced player from The Roving Imp in Kansas City coming down to put us through our paces and get us ready for our big Comedy debut (May 1). I am so excited about it I can't hardly wait!  If any of you is looking for an activity that pushes you as a person, forces you out of any semblance of comfort zone, and makes you laugh til your face hurts...you should give Improv a whirl! I love it!


What about you guys?  What's up in your world?

Company Girl Coffee 3/5

Come on in! I have gluten free/vegan blueberry muffins and quinoa breakfast brownies for snacks and some lovely tea for drink...yum...I hope you enjoy!

Life has been so hectic these past weeks, I don't have much time to stop and write, but just to catch you up...here's an updated:

Living Life with Strings Attached launched on Monday and is now available for SALE! YAY!

You can order a copy by clicking on the "buy my book" link at the top of the page OR if you would like a more socially conscious way to get your copy (and would like to have my "John Hancock"), send a check for $15 to Strings Attached Ministries, PO Box 187, Lowell, AR 72745 (leave a comment and let me know that you are doing this so I can be sure to have enough books in stock). For every book purchased this way $5 will benefit The Inspired Girls International Life and Leadership Camp in Brazil. I am so excited to share this message and ministry with you!

My first Book Signing Party is March 28, in Bentonville, AR for those of you who are local, message me and I will send details, and I make my big radio debut on Tuesday at 1235 EST on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cwa-radio. I am a bit nervous about it, but I know that God will meet me at the mic.

My ministry partner and I just returned from a great conference in The Woodlands, TX last weekend called Share Fair 2010. It is a ministry of Reflective Life Ministries and was an absolutely awesome experience. There were fantastic speakers, break out sessions, sweet times of connection with new friends, and over 85 ministries represented. We had a blast!

The kids are out of school today, and well, the sun is shining! It is a glorious day here and we are going to get outside and enjoy it! I have my sister's bachelorette party tonight and her wedding shower tomorrow (pray for energy for me...eek...that's a lot of parties to pull off in one weekend!)

I think that's everything...I have a couple of other things in the works, but they aren't quite ready for unveiling yet! I can't wait to tell you all about them!

Got a big weekend ahead, but I hope to make it around to all the Company Girls...might not be til Sunday night, though! Link up with us!

Company Girl Coffee 1/29/10

Well, hello gang! Please come in from the snow and ice!

I am on a special diet for the next six weeks, so I am only serving coffee and tea this morning, but I don't have any yummy baked goods this morning...so sorry! However, I have lost 4 lbs this week and am well on my way to a slim figure for my sister's wedding!

Update on this week...well, there's not much to say really, other than I am really working to get this post out before power goes out due to the ice storm. Last year was AWFUL and we were without power for two days, but there were many in our city that went without for ten days or more. The isolation of that storm, first seeded the idea for Strings Attached, and the need to form different kinds of relationships for the coming world. I was amazed by the resourefulness of people during the storm last year, and heartened by the way our friends and neighbors opened their hearts and homes to one another...it is how we should live our daily lives.

It is currently snowing here, but sleeted and iced all night...we have about a half inch of ice on the ground and it is snowing at a rate of a half inch or so an hour, so we may be stuck here for a while. I am hoping to go back and do all the Small Things that I missed this week, but I have also promised myself a couple of hours to write today as well...

On that note, my book is going well and coming along nicely. My deadline to upload to the publisher is 8 Feb....So I will be so excited to share it with you when I publish!

I am so excited about my upcoming trip to Rio de Janeiro...the girls that we have chosen so far to go have been amazing young ladies, and I am continually impressed by the quality of the young women who are applying. I would love help, though! The trip is expensive and the work we are doing will change both our lives and the lives of hundreds of Brazilian girls who will be able to get an education because of our uniform donations. I would love ANY help you could muster. Just click on the ChipIN badge up at the top of the page! If you would like to learn more about the trip, Inspired Girls Life and Leadership Camp or Inspired Girls Success Summits- I have linked their websites and would be happy to answer any questions you have.

On a last note, Company Girls you rock! Thank you for your support, your wisdom, your comments and encouragement last week. I desperately needed to feel like I wasn't just being whiney about things...and you ladies not only came through, but also helped me to feel better. Which is what this whole thing is all about...Thank You!