Something for the Singles

This is something we received at VeggieTales training. It touched both of us and we wanted to share the encouragement with you.

A letter from Jesus:

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone- to have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God to a Christian says, "No, not until you are satisfied and fulfiled and content with living loved by Me alone. I love you, my child, and until you discover that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found, you will not be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you. You will never be united with another until you are united with me- exclusive of any other desires and longings. I want you to stop planning, stop wishing and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing- one that you can't imagine. I want you to have the BEST. Please allow me to bring it to you- keep watching Me, expecting the greatest thing- keep experiencing that satisfaction knowing that I am. Keep learning and listening to the things I tell you...you must wait.

Don't be anxious. Don't worry. Don't look around at the things others have gotten or that I've given them. Don't look at the things you think you want. You just keep looking off and away up to Me, or you'll miss what I want to show you.

And, then, when you're ready, I'll surprise you with a love far more wonderful than anyone would ever dream. You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for you is ready, I am working even this very minute to have both of you ready at the same time. Until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me and the life I have prepared for you, you won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me...and this is perfect love.

And dear one, I want you to have this most wonderful love, I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me, and to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty and perfection and love that I offer you with Myself. Know that I love you utterly. I am God Almighty. Believe and be satisfied"

Jesus

Freedom Weekend

Its Memorial Day Weekend and that means Freedom Weekend Aloft (thats a hot air balloon festival for those who dont know). I have been going to Freedom Weekend since I was a kid. Rides, concerts, hot air balloons, fire works... its a fun time! This year will be a little different though. This year we will be at Freedom Weekend as vendors. Yes, we will be selling Veggie Tales CDs. It goes from Friday at noon through Monday night and we will be there the whole time. We hope it will be a busy and profitable weekend. After this show we start in the mall.

Come see us, it should be fun!

Seattle

Well, here we are in Seattle! We have had an awesome trip! We saw the space needle... went shopping at Pike's Market...

had drinks at the original Starbucks..

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and, amidst all of the fish throwing, met a monk fish.

I can never order monk fish again without seeing this image in my head! Better stick to salmon! :)

Sherry

First one OVER!!!

YES!!! We got through our first show and we are still alive! Actually it was a great first show. We knew that it would be a lot of work but we had no idea that it would be so rough. We got to the show on Friday around 1:30pm and set up. The wind was blowing like crazy so the tent tried to take off a couple of times. Luckily I like hanging on things so I didnt mind keeping the tent weighted down. The show started at 4:00pm on Friday and we left around 9:30pm. Before leaving we had to tear down everything except the tent and tables, and take it all home with us. Saturday morning we got there at 8:15am to get set up AGAIN and the show started at 10:00am. It was a long day but we made it through. By 5:00pm the money crowd was gone and another type of crowd came out... after an hour of no sales we packed up and headed out.

For the first show, we felt pretty good about how much we sold. We were and are still learning how to sell these products but it is getting easier... Friday I was the top seller by far! However, Saturday Sherry got the hang of it and kicked my butt! Her sister Elizabeth worked for the afternoon too and she did GREAT as well! Next up, Freedom Weekend Aloft in Anderson. Then we start in the mall on June 1st. We are excited about getting into the mall because it will be more stable than the shows.

Well, thats all for now. Catch ya later on...

Ryan

Here we go...

Its finally time for the new business to start! We have been preparing for this for months and its go time now. We officially start our business tomorrow and Saturday at the Greer Family Fun Fest! One of the most exciting things about getting started is getting our house back! Veggie Tales and Barney and the Wiggles have taken over! Once we get going, especially in the mall, our house will be back to normal. For now we are making due, but relief cant come soon enough! Come see us if you get a chance... we have the perfect gift for any child in your life!

Just Hangin Out...

During my business trip to Dallas, we were able to attend a minor league baseball game. I got a little bored before the game started...

Husbands

About a year and a half ago, I was reading a Christian Women's magazine and saw an advertisement for a VeggieTales ministry that gets the Good News into the hands of children that may not have heard it otherwise. I felt like the Lord called me to do start this type of ministry in Greenville. So I prayed about it- and waited. And prayed about it- and waited. Over a year later, two months before my wedding, I felt like the Lord said 'OK- now'. What? Two months before the wedding? Wow! Sometimes it's hard to understand the Lord's 'perfect timing'! So I started the endless paperwork and planning. I remember putting the deposit down for a franchise for the upstate 2 weeks before the wedding. Suzanne, the lady at the corporate office who takes care of all of that, said 'Ok, you have your territory locked. Now don't call me again until after the honeymoon!'
You may wonder why I titled this 'Husbands'. It's because God knew I couldn't have done this without Ryan. That is why His timing is perfect and why at the time, I had to just trust His timing. In hindsight, it was the perfect time.
Throughout this whole thing, Ryan has covered me. When I got so discouraged that there was no way we could come up with the money to start this, Ryan kept praying with me and reassuring me that God would provide. And He did! You know it's God when someone that you have only met once hands you a check for thousands of dollars! In fact, after Ryan and I told them about what we were starting, the wife looked at the husband and said 'We wondered why we had that extra money in the account this month'. Wow! God has shown us miracle after miracle through all of this!
There have been times when I would get so worried and upset, and Ryan would call me and tell me to skip ahead and read a chapter in the Bible study we are going through. It would be exactly what I needed. There are many times that I would cry and think about quitting and Ryan would grab me and pray with me. When I am overwhelmed, he somehow knows it, and tells me what a good job I'm doing and how proud he is of me. I worry about our future finances from this- we have put all of our savings and money on the line- and Ryan constantly tells me that the Lord would not have brought us here to let us fail. While my faith has been tested over the past few months, it has helped to see how solid my husband's faith is- EVERY DAY. It helps increase my faith because with Ryan, I do things that I would be scared to do alone, and I see God work- and my faith increases.
So many people congratulate me on the new business and Ryan just smiles. If they only knew to congratulate him, too, because without his constant covering and encouragement, there would be no business.

Birthday Boy!

Yesterday was Ryan's Birthday! The big 27! We went to lunch with a group of his friends from work...


and laughed as the sweet lady that makes cookies sang him a "Marilyn Monroe" version of Happy Birthday on the microphone!


For dinner, we went to Ryan's mom's and celebrated! Ryan made a few comments about how funny my homemade cake looked (it was topped with melted marshmellows instead of frosting), so I think he may be getting a big Barbie cake from Publix next year! :D

Ryan loves reminding me that no matter how old he gets, he'll never be as old as me! :-<

He had a great day! He is spending his Birthday money on Clemson season tickets, so that makes him VERY EXCITED!!!!