Flip That House...Whose house? MY HOUSE!

So, I've been to the beach, yet again. I was able to go to Myrtle Beach for a week with my mom, dad, Ryan and Jordyn. We had a great time (pics at the end of this post) though I missed Jim very, very much (he was unable to go with us!). I have been home for a week now and I would have blogged sooner...but when I returned from vacation I had the surprise of my life awaiting me!!! My house got a partial flip! (Yes, you read that correctly....if you know The Burtons..we don't do home improvements. giggle)

We have lived in this house for 15+ years and for 12 years, I have prayed for new carpet. We have never really had the extra moola in our budget to make any household improvements, especially new carpet. But, oh, the power of prayer....while I was at the beach, someone told Jim they were going to bless us with new carpet!! (The Lord is good, isn't He??). The carpet was scheduled to arrive while I was out of town and so Jim decided he was going to paint the paneling in our den as a HUGE surprise for me. (My man hates...and I mean HATES to paint!). Jim knew that I have wanted to paint the den for 15+ years too. I know this was a complete labor of love on Jim's part!! Bless his heart...4 coats of paint later, the den is white and bright! No more 70's paneling over here. :)

All I can say is "Praise The Lord" and my house looks sooo beautiful!!! Thank you to those who blessed Jim and I with this amazing gift of new carpet. You will never know how grateful we are for this amazing gift. :)

Check out Jim's Blog for his take on the "flip"!

Tats, Purple Pinky and vacation

So much to blog about and so little time. Guess I'll have to be brief (yeah, right!).

Well, the summer Bible Study at Tantrum Tattoo Shop ended Monday night..but it was a great six weeks! Thanks again Emmy for letting us invade your shop on your day off to study The Word and reach out to women! The Lord was great to us and we had around 34 women in and out of the doors over the course of 6 weeks. Here is a 'crazy' pic. from Monday Night (we were missing about 10 women!!! Where were you all??)

Pray for Jennifer. She is a friend of mine (only 33) and she would have been in the above pic if she was not in the hospital. She was just diagnosed with cancer two weeks ago. At CCF, we "girls" started a "Purple Pinky Prayer Partners" for Jenny. We are painting one of our pinky fingernails purple (yes..the best color ever, right Jennifer?) as an outward sign that we are praying for Jennifer and her family!

Lastly, here are some pics from our mini-vacation (with my man last week) to Carolina Beach and Wilmington, NC!

This is the 2nd best place on earth (next to Maggie Moos, of course)

Oh, Taste and see that The Lord is good....is that taken out of context?

Support C28

Wow! Our last night of 'vacation' landed us at Short Pump Mall. (Soon I'll be posting more and some pics from our travels to Carolina Beach and Wilmington...and oh, yeah Maggie MOOS!!!).

Back to the here and now:Recently I heard about a new Christian apparel store that had opened in SPM. Tonight, we were able to check it out, first hand.

Let me tell you it was GREAT!! I was so impressed with this place. Very creative designs (not cheesy T-shirt graphics...know what I mean??!!). The walls were covered with Scriptures, Christian music and CD's playing, a Bible on the "check out" counter and get this: They ask you for prayer request when you pay and then they even pray with you IN THE STORE!!!

Be sure to check this place out! Here is their national web site: http://www.c28.com/

I wish I could have bought a few T-shirts ...maybe next time (gift card for Cmas??? SURE!). Anyway, here is what I would have bought (w/ shirt description from their website).

I use to always quote this to my girls! "Go to the ant!!" ha ha

At first glance, this may seem like just a pattern design; however, with a closer look you will see the classic NOTW logo morphing into the shape of an ant! Above this clever artwork is a call to action, BE THE ANT! As God says through His word, do not be lazy, but work diligently like the ant! The scripture on the back come from Proverbs 6:6-11.

So often we look down on ourselves. We think we're not good enough, pretty enough, or smart enough, and tend to fall into self-pity. We are always looking for man's approval, but in God's eyes, we are perfect, through Christ! And so the Psalm 42:5-6 was used as inspiration for this shirt. This psalm is a prayer about putting your hope in God and realizing we are perfect just the way God' made us! The wings on the back of the shirt symbolize this hope and how we can be lifted up by keeping this hope in mind.
"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you." - Psalm 42:5-6

I'll leave you with some pics Jordyn took on her celly tonight while we were at the best place on earth...that's right Maggie Moos (thank you Cheryl for my gift card!!) More vacation pics coming soon!

(yes, he's making those faces again! ha ha)