Pictures
New Attitude '04 - We had an awesome group this year. It was great to fellowship with so many friends on the trip up, while there, and on the trip back. :)
Snowboarding at Wintergreen - These are from yesterday and Last Friday.
Amy's Birthday Lunch - We went to a great Thia restaurant near Fairfax to celebrate Amy's 24th Birthday!!!


My Snowboarding Theme Song
Last night I was coming home from boarding... trying to stay awake, and I put in some Superchick. Decided that this is my snowboarding theme song.... since I spend so much time on my butt!!!


Get Up
Superchick
I'm not afraid to fall
It means I climbed up high
To fall is not to fail
You fail when you dont try
I'm not afraid to fall
I might just learn to fly
And I will spread these wings of mine

I'm not afraid to fall
And here I told you so
Don't want to rock the boat
But I just had to know
Just a greener side
Or can I touch the sky
But either way I will try

I'm not afraid to fall
I've fallen many times
They laughed when I fell down
But I dared to climb
I'm not afraid to fall
I know i'll fall again
But I can win this in the end

If I get up I might fall back down again
so lets get up C'mon
If I get up I might fall back down again
We get up anyway
If I get up I might fall back down again
so lets get up C'mon
If I get up I might fall back down again
And I might fall back down again
And well just jump and see
Even if its the 20th time
We'll just jump and see if we can fly

How Snowboarding is Like Our Christian Lives
Ok, bear with me b/c I had this thought after listening to this song, and I'm not sure if I will articulate it properly, but I'm gonna give it a shot.

The goal of snowboarding is to go down the mountain on your feet (as aposed to on your back side.) You don't WANT to fall. Sometimes when you fall it kinda hurts. Sometimes when you fall it hurts BAD! (CAN I GET A WITNESS???) But inevitably, when you are learning, you are going to fall. Something is most likely gonna catch your edge and send you a tumbling! If you gave up on boarding every time you fell, you would never reach the goal. The prize of contentment knowing you conquered that mountain (maybe not so gracefully!) Thank goodness for friends who are there to cheer you on!!! :)

So it is with the Christian walk. The goal is to be like Christ. Inevitably we fall. That besetting sin catches our edge and we are sent a tumbling. It hurts. Sometimes it hurts really bad (CAN I GET A WITNESS???) But that doesn't mean we throw in our spiritual snowboards (ok, i know that illustration is a stretch but go with me here!) and give up the journey before us! We press on. We finish the race! We conquer the mountain! Will we fall again? Probably! But thats not the goal. The goal is By God's grace, we make it on our feet. Thank goodness for the grace God has shown us by giving us friends to cheer us on in this journey! Thankfully we have a God that became one of us, therefore He understands our sin and temptation. Thankfully we have a God who sends His Spirit to help us make it down the Mountain standing!

Psalm 113:3
From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised.

Psalm 107:9
For He satisfieth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

I Got a SNOWBOARD!
So Tomorrow I head up to Wintergreen to meet some friends and try out my new snowboard!!! Wanna see it????

My board is a Burton Feather 147
I have Ride Lx Bindings. They are beautiful on the board. A blue and silver color! And then I got 32 Prospect Boots (thats the brand name not the number of boots I got!)

I can't wait to try them out! See ya on the slopes!

Me:
i got ride LX bindings and Thirty-two boots.

Response:
Wow, that's a lot of boots! :o)

Thanks!
Your prayers for my family during this difficult time have meant a lot. I appreciate friends (even ones that I haven't met which is humbling!) that are faithful in prayer for us. My dad is much much better. He even went to work today. There is still cancer there, and some pain, but we know that God knows where He is going with this. Pray that my dad has wisdom in deciding future treatment options.

New Blogger
Check out my friend Ben's new Blogspot

Blogging Tips
1. Cite YOUR sources!
2. Cite YOUR sources!
3. Cite YOUR sources!

LOL!

He's Home
Just wanted to type a quick post to let everyone know that my dad is home from the hospital. Still experiencing pain. Doctors said its a side affect of the chemo. we would be thankful for your continued prayers.

Grace and peace,
Mel

Serve Hymn
by Andrew Peterson

Ev'ry Hour is a precious boon
Ev'ry breath is a mercy
Ev'ry glimpse of yonder moon
a balm upon this journey
How vast the heavens above this place
So small beneath His glory
Still He stooped and showed His face
And poured His mercy o'er me ...

...So serve Him, O serve Him
He who brings the morning ...

...Holy is the Lord, Holy is the Lord
In the Lord I will obey
Lord, help me I don't know the way

Prayer Request
Hey everyone! As most of you know my dad was diagnosed with carsonogenic cancer about 3 years ago. Just this year he started having pain, and considering treatment options.

He has just completed a series of 5 Chemo treatments, and is suffering excrutiating pain. He is dehydrating b/c he cannot eat or drink. This morning we took him to the cancer center in Greensboro and they admitted him to the hospital there. The are going to try to hydrate him and regulate the pain to a tolerable level. They are also doing a few scans to see what is causing the pain. From what I could understand, they think it is all a reaction to the chemo. he will probably be in the hospital for the next few days. in 6 weeks he is scheduled to go through another chemo treatment just like think one, though I'm unsure what he will decide about that. We would really appreciate your prayers. Here are a few specifics that you can pray for:

1. Healing/That the pain will go away/God's will
2. For Mila to be comforted
3.For wisdom in making future treatment decisions
4. For all the insurance stuff to work out and not be a hassle for my dad

We know that God has this disease, situation, and all circumstances in His hands, and that He is going to work it to his will and for His glory.

Even cancer must bow its knee to the Almighty!

Thank you so much for your prayers.
-Mel