easter class

our easter classes started today!


the girls were so excited when they woke up and i was getting our table set up for our friends!


everyone got set up with their jelly bean jars


and we made these cool and easy stained glassed crosses (found on pinterest!)


i'm so glad we're doing these.

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and when will i ever tire of finding these sweet little drawings and notes all over the house?



check out ian's spiky hair! ha!


and this is my favorite so far.  she didn't even ask me how we spelled our names. i love the way she sounded them out and even included the line over the E and A.  love that crazy girl so much!

what the Lord said

this weekend's speaker, jennifer brukiewa, reminded us of the beauty of meditating on scripture and the intimacy that comes with sitting with a passage and allowing it to soak into your spirit and make you new.

saturday morning we were given space to do just that.

"one thing i ask of the Lord, this is what i seek: that i may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.  for in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." psalm 27:4-5

dwell.
gaze.
seek.


this year has been a stripping year.  it's felt unsafe and scary.  most of the time when you're in those types of situations and you picture God rescuing you, you picture Him taking you out of the scariness.  moving you away from the attacks.  and i've spent much of this past year begging Him to do just that.  come and save us!  take us out of this place!

and saturday morning, as i let these verses wash over me, i was overcome with such a beautiful truth.  our safety is not dependent on circumstance.  


when we dwell with God, when we gaze on Him, and when we seek His face,  there we are safe.  no matter what.  He doesn't have to take us away from attacks, because His presence is protection. in fact, lots of attacks are lies about who we are and if we are dwelling and gazing and seeking, then we are bathed in truth and the attacks of lies are attacks no longer.

wow.

and then, after i journaled about how profound this was to my heart, i thought i'd go check out my journal entry from march 10th, 2011 (exactly a year ago). and this is what i found.






and i felt like God was saying "just dwell with me, Mandy, and you'll be safe"

talk about peace.

retreat

One thing I ask from the LORD, 
   this only do I seek: 


that I may dwell in the house of the LORD 
   all the days of my life, 




to gaze on the beauty of the LORD 
   and to seek him in his temple. psalm 27:4




it was a blessed retreat.

my body is tired.
but my heart is full.

season

last night, season investments had their first party.  the new office is so fun.


the kids were entertained with phones and grandparents and aunt laura





and everyone raved about proper.  so that's good.



laura let aves play some sort of stack the hamburger game? and she loved it.



and i really couldn't believe it.  i couldn't believe that we were there celebrating this business that God put in Dave's heart, a business that required a loss before it could even exist.  God's blessing was overflowing.

it felt like another new beginning.

to the zoo

in order for the cheyenne mountain zoo to be an enjoyable experience, colorado temps need to be just right. too cold and the shadow of the mountain chills your bones, too windy and everything blows out of the stroller,  and too hot and the crazy hills/double stroller combo is brutal.

but monday was perfection.



it was near 70's the whole time we were there and everyone had a great time and we all were in good moods, aside from our mishap with a friendly, cracker loving peacock.



this was ian's first real experience and twas super cute to watch him watch the animals.  you can barely see the cracker in that giraffe's mouth, he wasted no time in swiping it out of ian's toddler grip.  (did i just call him a toddler?!?  sigh)


ian was a little confused about the whole experience.  i actually think he wanted to eat that cracker himself.





i found ash like this on several occasions throughout the day.









this is what they always do when we're in a bathroom that has a loud hand dryer thing.


the gorillas were close to the glass this time.


and danielle says it's supposed to be in the 70's again next week!  we just might go back :)

at the beginning of march

we took the girls to the dollar store to spend their valentine cash from gg velma



have you ever been to dollar world on east fillmore?  it's awesome.


and we ended up going to nancy lewis park twice last weekend.


we saw our neighbor bree there!  ash loves her.


and i really need to stop giving him bananas in his car seat.  it's quite the clean up every time.

okay folks

i want you to know that i believe with all of my soul that providing the funds to give a job and training to someone in rural India in order for them to become a well mechanic who will give clean water access to 5,000 people is, quite literally, bringing Heaven to earth.  

"Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven" 
-Jesus :)

this campaign is so complex and unique, because it touches the NOW of the urgency of clean water so children can stop dying of unnecessary disease and it touches the FUTURE of a community who has a well mechanic who is trained to fix and maintain their well.  it impacts an INDIVIDUAL life by giving them a job to earn money so that they may live "beyond survival" and it impacts a COMMUNITY of people who, not only get clean water, but also the hope that comes from economic growth.  

the now

the future

the individual

the community

are you serious?  yep.  

this is not just some game to see how much money we can raise and how many mechanics we can train.  

this is changing the world.    

and i want you to change the world with me.  because it's fun.  and empowering.  but mostly because it's what Jesus calls us to.  i can't tell you how humbled i am to have the opportunity to be a part of such a unique campaign.  

and you have the opportunity too.  

we are adding to the raffle.  

1. another Laura Moffat  30 minute photo session (20 dollars)

2. another chicken enchilada and guac meal. (10 dollars)

3. a "free" spot for soccer camp. it will be held from 9:30-11:00 the last two wednesdays and fridays of july  (20 dollars)

4.  kojo designs says that all you have to do is BID on either the flashcards (10 dollars) or the POP baby shower (5 dollars) and she'll send you the PDF's.  now that's a steal :)  you automatically win just by bidding!  fun!

here's the original post about the raffle.

you can comment here or on the original post.  doesn't really matter to me, just make sure you let me know how much you donated and which items you'd like to bid on.

please email if you're a little confused, but would still like to help!  i can be a bit wordy and explain too much, which doesn't always help the situation :)   mandyhoule@gmail.com

and don't forget, bidding earns you a spot to our water party.  and kirst from kojo designs is going to help me plan it, so you don't want to miss out.  you have until 8 pm on world water day to bid, that's 16 days away.  

bid here 

and let's change the world. 

and we're on number 3

well, that didn't take long.  an anonymous donor got wind of this and wanted to hire a mechanic on the spot.


(he wants to keep it anonymous, but i just have to mention that he's family, and he's weathered lots of storms, and he loves Jesus, and has a big, big heart.  and one day, i'll make him some enchiladas)


2 mechanics.
100 wells.
10,000 people.

i'll be back later with some updated information on the raffle.  if you haven't bid yet, get ready to, because i suppose we can't stop now, we have 17 more days so we might as well try to train a third mechanic.

a third mechanic!?!



it's supposed to be almost 70 today!!  i'm taking these monkey's to the zoo!!

in shock

this is insane.

you guys are ridiculous.  i can't believe you made this happen in 3 days.  seriously, can't believe it.



we just hired and trained a well mechanic.
and that mechanic is going to maintain 50 wells.
and those wells will provide clean drinking water for 5,000 people.

and my prayer is that, much like the Samaritan woman at the well,  people would come to these wells to find water, and that their eyes would be opened to the Living Water. to the One who lived and died for them, the One who compels us to fight for people to have clean water, to fight for heaven to happen here, now, so that all will know Him.

i'm shocked, my heart feels like it might just burst and my eyes are overflowing.

thank you.
thank you.
thank you.



as far as i'm concerned, the raffle is no where near complete.  we have 18 days until world water day.  and the stakes just got a bit higher, because now we're going for 2 mechanics. Lord, have mercy...


continue to bid , because now it's official,  we will have a water party. i can't wait to see our mechanic(s)!?!  i can't wait to pray for him/her with y'all.  it's going to be incredible.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” Matthew 25:35

when you teach a man to fish

theadventureproject has been close to my heart for over a year now.  they do 4 campaigns a year and each one looks for long term solutions that fight the poverty epidemic that plagues this world.

"if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.  if you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime."

jody and becky teach people to fish.

and i love it. 

i've tried to be a small part of each campaign they launch, because it just makes so much sense to me.  

the water campaign for the month of march is in full swing.  there are hundreds of people, groups, and families working hard to raise 550 dollars in order to train a well mechanic in india. if 186 well mechanics get trained, they would have the capacity to keep CLEAN water flowing for 930,000 people.    

"if you give a man a drink, you quench his thirst for a day.  if you teach a man to fix wells, he is thirsty no more."

and here's where i come in.  i'm doing a raffle to raise money to train a well mechanic in india.  i've never done one of these things before, so bear with me as i try to explain it :).  i've got some pretty snazzy friends who've given me some amazing things in order to do a raffle on this here blog.   there are 3 categories of items.  you can bid on all of them or just one of them. you can also bid a bunch of times on just one item.  

5 dollar items:

1.  A bottle of Proper's Rose.  due to shipping costs and licenses, you can only bid on this one if you're in the springs (or denver or pueblo :))

2.  From kojo designs:  Printable "Pop" baby shower pack from kojo designs.  (perfect if you've got a friend or relative who's pregnant!)  go here to see all of the different printables you'll get to host a fun, custom baby shower!

10 dollar items:

1.  I will bring you homemade chicken enchiladas and a big ol' bowl of guacamole on any night of your choosing.

2.  From kojo designs:  Entire Alphabet Travelbaby printable flashcards!  go here to see more details.

3.  Jelly Bean Easter kit (two mason jars, two bags of jelly beans, one personalized and laminated jelly bean chart, two pre cut paper mason jars, a baggie full of pre cut paper jelly beans)  you'll be all set up to do this neat pre-easter activity with your kiddo.  here's my whole post about it from last year.   only this time i'll make you a custom jelly bean chart like this.



i'll put your kiddos names on it and you can change any of the behavioral goals to whatever you'd like!

4.  Framed print of one of your favorite phrases from a worship song, or favorite verse. Elaina Chynoweth made these for our whole life group.  we all adore them!  after we find out who wins this, you'll just let her know the phrase or verse you'd like and she'll create it and frame it for you.  so cool.

5.  A bottle of Proper's Syrah (due to shipping costs and licenses, you can only bid on this one if you're in the springs (or denver or pueblo :))

20 dollar items:

1.  A 30 minute photo session with Laura Moffat (cd with edited images included)

we had less than 30 minutes with her and she still got some amazing shots of our little family.  this would be a  steal if i pick your name for this one.  for real.  here's more from our photo shoot with laura.

2.  A 60 minute massage from Alicia Berutti (licensed massage therapist)  um.  a 60 minute massage for 20 bucks!?!?  nuff said. :)

okay, i don't want this to be confusing, so i'm going to try to spell it out for you.

 Step # 1  decide which items you'd like to bid on.

"hmmm okay.  i'd like to bid on 1 bottle of Rose, the chicken enchilada dinner, and the photo session with laura moffat"

Step #2    now figure out how much money that would be.

" 5, plus 10, plus 20.....okay 35 bucks!"

Step #3   nice job! now go here and donate that amount of money.

click, click, type, type.....

Step #4   now leave a comment here telling me how much you donated and which items you want to bid on!

"i just donated 35 bucks to the water campaign!  can i please bid on a bottle of rose, the chicken enchilada meal, and the photo session?"

okay!  you are done.  congrats, you just helped train a well mechanic in india and you just might win something fabulous!  
(i really hope this makes sense, if it doesn't, but you'd still like to be a part of the raffle, please email me mandyhoule@gmail.com)

at 8 pm on World Water Day (thursday, march 22nd)  i will draw a name (if you bid multiple times on one item, your name goes in that many times) for each item in the raffle and announce the winners!  then, the kids and i will come deliver your winnings the next day, or if you live out of town we will make a trip to the post office!  

if this raffle raises 550 dollars, which is enough money to train a well mechanic, then next year jody will send me pictures and stories of the actual mechanic that we helped train. and if that happens, then i'm going to have a party.  and it's going to be exclusive.  you have to have bid on at least one of these items in order to attend.  we will look at the pictures and read the stories of our mechanic and pray over him or her.  oh, and we'll drink wine!  

it pretty cool to see these awesome friends of mine using their talents and resources to live outside of themselves.  

blessed to bless.  

i'm nervous as heck about this.  550 dollars sounds too big for me.  too big for this little blog.  

but if one well mechanic can get trained because i cut out little paper jelly beans and made enchiladas and if that well mechanic can provide clean, free flowing water to his community, and if that water gives life and hope, and if that hope can turn people to Jesus?  then? well, there's not much better.  

incentive: the first people to bid on each item will get TWO bids for the price of one, so you're twice as likely to win that item if you bid first!