Beloved

This past week Josh and a few adult leaders from our church DROVE 16 high school students to Colorado Springs, Colorado for a youth conference called Desperation. Up until about 3 months ago we had no idea this conference exsisted but when our new senior pastor started at our church he told Josh about the conference and said we should take our students. Looking at our packed summer youth schedule we weren’t sure how it was going to work but we knew it had to happen somehow! Once we knew we were taking students to the conference we had people who began praying for the Lord to show His strength and mercy and reveal himself to our students in ways they could not have imagined!

And boy did He! I just flew back home from Colorado and my mind feels a bit numb after what I experienced this weekend at Desperation. To be praying for the Lord to transform lives and anticipating the work that God wanted to do in the lives of our students at Evergreen and then to be abudantly blessed to be a vessel for what He had planned had me on my knees this weekend in awe of God’s faithfulness and mercy!

A precious life was saved this weekend and I praise God with everything I have within me! This song is on my heart because it  beautifully describes the work God did this weekend in the heart of this student who has been redeemed! Praise the Lord! He is SO worthy of our praise!

You’re My Beloved- Kari Jobe

You’re My Beloved
You’re My Bride
To sing over you is My delight
Come away with Me My love

You’re Beautiful to Me
So beautiful to Me

Under My mercy
Come and wait
Till we are standing face to face
I see no stain on you
My child

You’re Beautiful to Me
So Beautiful to Me

I sing over you My song of peace
Cast all your care down at My feet
Come and find your rest in Me

I’ll breathe My life inside of you
I’ll bear you up on eagle’s wings
And hide you in the shadow of My strength
I’ll take you to My quiet waters
I’ll restore your soul
Come rest in Me and be made whole

You’re My beloved
You’re My Bride
To sing over you is my delight
Come away with me my love

 

When love takes you in…

This song has been on my heart for the last few days. Thought I would share it.

I know you’ve heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You’ve heard about a place called home
But there doesn’t seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in

And somewhere while you’re sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever
cause this love to lose its hold

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in

 

Colorado Trip #1

A few weeks ago Josh, Jayden and I had the opportunity to go Colorado Springs for a prayer summit. At the time we didn’t know much if anything about the summit and what it consisted. Our pastor who was from Colorado before he came to Evergreen told us about this prayer summit followed by a youth conference called Desperation which is in June. He told us he wanted us to go so we signed up and booked flights to Colorado! When we got there we were abundantly blessed to find out that the weekend was a  time for youth pastors from around the country to gather together and spend time praying for today’s youth all across america! The Desperation band led worship and throughout the weekend we had time to sing and pray by ourselves and then to reach out to other youth pastors and be a support to them through prayer. It was an incredible time and the Lord really spoke and ministered to both me and Josh.

While we were there we got to stay with a couple who our pastor had known while living in Colorado! They were so hospitable to us and made us feel so at home and loved! The morning after we got to Colorado we woke up to about 12 inches of snow!

It was Jayden’s first snow so we had fun taking pictures to document!

We visited garden of the gods while were were there which was absolutely beautiful! Josh started climbing the rocks unharnessed then looked down at his wife and son and decided that was all the further he wanted to go at the time!

Jayden LOVED the fresh air and bright sun even though I thought it was chilly! Each time I tried to cover him up or shield him from the sun he would sqwak. Then i would uncover him so the breeze would blow on  him and he would quite right down! He’s DEFINITELY his father’s son!

We had a fabulous time in Colorado and can’t wait till we go back in June for the youth conference! Be praying for the hearts of the students that they would be ready to receive what the Lord has to teach them during the weekend!

 

CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME!

On April 5th at 5 a.m. Josh and I and 4 other leaders loaded up 15 high school and junior high students and began our LONG but fun drive down to California! In order to be able to go on the trip the students and leaders were required to memorize the first 3 chapters in James…which is no small accomplishment i might add!!

Our trip was 6 days long and we stayed with some friends of mine and in churches to cut down on costs! The van rides were great opportunities for talking with each other and making new friends and for deepening exsisting friendships!  On the way down we got to stop in Grants Pass Oregon to see our cousins! It was the first time they got to meet Jayden! And we stayed in Redding California the first night and got to spend time with my long time friend Ashley!

We spent two days in Disneyland! It was spring break week so Disneyland was quite crowded but the students enjoyed it and Jayden had a pretty relaxing time i would say!

 

Before we got to the church we were staying at we made a stop for dinner in Santa Clarita California at IN N OUT! Which just HAPPENED TO BE the same city that my long time friend/adopted big sister lives in! She drove to meet us while we ate dinner so we could say hi and give her a hug and she could meet Jayden!

We were so blessed to be able to stay in Camarillo, CA which is where are dear friends Erin and Josh Williams live with their oh so adorable children Abby and Zach! They were able to arrange for us to stay in their church while we were in California and I got to stay at their house! Zach shared his bath robe with Jayden! It was so wonderful to catch up with the William’s family and see where there life is now that they’ve moved back to California!

 

Jayden got his picture taken with Mickey and Minnie which i was pretty excited about!

While we were in disneyland our former pastor and his wife, Pastor Paul and Joanie drove from their house in California and met us in downtown disney. It was a special time to get to hug them and catch up with them for a little while!

After our 2 crazy days running through disneyland and riding on Space Mountain and Indiana Jones we spent a more relaxed day at a beach near the church we were staying at! Jayden sported his beach outfit that day! As you can tell he thoroughly enjoyed his beach experience!

 

Jayden Layne Bresler

In some ways i thought life would slow down a little because i had a new baby. They say you’re exhausted from a lack of sleep because of the baby. In this case our baby is sleeping away on a great schedule wherever we lay him down and we’re exhausted from all the traveling we’ve done since Jayden has come! Its a good exhausted though! We love ministry and wouldn’t trade it for anything but it has just been humorous to us how much we’ve been going since Jayden came! He’s been to California, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Colorado! 

Jayden was born on March 9th 2010 at 11:36 am! I got to the hospital on Monday night the 8th at a little before midnight and was dilated to a 4 so they admitted me and got me settled in my room so i could get an epidural!! Our amazing family came to keep us company through the night with games and a slumber party in the room!

The delivery was very smooth and for the most part went quickly! There were a few times I remember being REALLY ready to be done! But it was so worth it when the doctor told me to reach down pull out my son so Josh and I could meet him!

Jayden is such a precious gift from God to us and we have loved the last 10 weeks learning to be parents to Jayden and loving watching him as he learns and discovers this world and is constantly changing and growing!

 

broken

Its amazing to me how my life can be so full of joy in so many areas… I have an amazing godly husband and a beautiful baby boy who i love dearly! My family is close by to me and the church we are at is full of life and so many people who are continually a blessing to us.

And in this same moment my heart is breaking. Breaking for a boy who dearly just needs to know he is loved…no at the moment he just wants to know he is liked. My heart as a mother hurts for this boy who has been stuck in the foster care system since he was 2. The longest he has ever been in a home is 4 years.

I don’t know what the future looks like with him and i don’t know what role josh and i are supposed to play in his life but if you think of it will you pray for him with me? Pray that inspite of a life of disruption and feeling unwanted that Jesus would be real in his life and this boy would know the love of the HEAVENLY FATHER. A love that even in our best attempts can’t be matched because God’s love is so great. Pray that this boy would begin to understand that our HEAVENLY FATHER has adopted him and calls him his child. Pray for this boys salvation if he does not already know Christ personally. And pray for Josh and me…for strength and wisdom.

 

We’re having a baby!!

Two weeks ago Josh and I found out we were expecting our first baby. This came as quite a surprise to both of us being that our well laid plans were to wait for at least a year!  I had been feeling a little different a few days before and Josh was convinced i was pregnant but i kept telling him i wasn’t. I thought if i said it enough i could also convince myself that i was correct… only it didn’t quite work out that way. I gave in one morning and took a pregnancy test. It turned positive quite quickly. After one more that day and another one 3 days later all coming out positive I gave in and admitted to myself that this was acutally happening. Its been an interesting time of processing for me. I am loving married life and Josh and I are having a blast getting to know each other and starting out in ministry together and I can’t imagine life being any other way because life with Josh is such an amazing blessing. I struggled with feeling frustrated at first and then realized Josh and I were the only ones I could possibly be frustrated at in this situation! And it really isn’t something to be frustrated at in the first place!  But seeing Josh’s reaction to the news he was already quite sure of was such a gift to me. He smiled at me so lovingly and just held me and told me how excited he was and how he can’t wait to be parents together.  He always has had a way of making the things I am unsure and scared of seem so possible and managable.

Over the past two weeks it has been such a roller coaster of being so excited to be a mom and feeling terrified of the unknowns of pregnancy. But through it all God has been so faithful to show me glimpses of the blessing that babies are and I am so thankful to Him for that. I am only 6 weeks along but the attachment that i feel to the little one in me is quite incredible and I really did not expect it that quickly. Immediately when you find out life changes…the food you eat, the rest you need, the vitamins. All these are things you do when the baby is born also but in the mean time you are caring for a life inside you that you have never met.

I find myself so protective of this little life in me already. Its quite amazing really. I have no idea if it is a boy or girl but inspite of not being able to know that quite yet I am praying for him/her constantly. I pray that the Lord will keep him/her safe as they grow. I pray for wisdom once the baby is born and suddenly Josh and I are responsible to show God’s love to our child and instill in them a desire to serve God and reach hurting people in a broken world. Such a huge responsibility but when i think about being able to raise my children with Josh as their earthly father and God as their Heavenly Father I can’t think of a greater joy in my life!

We’ll keep you posted! Love to all!

 

Evergreen Community Church!

As of yesterday Josh is officially the new youth pastor at Evergreen Community Church in Bothell! His first office day was today! We are so blessed and thankful to the Lord for providing this opportunity for us to be in ministry at an amazing church with so many friendly people who love and want to serve God alongside us!
A few weeks ago my cousin’s girlfriend mentioned to my mom that her friend’s church was looking for a youth pastor and he should check into it. It turns out my mom’s old youth pastor and his wife attend that church so she e-mailed him and mentioned Josh. The next day he replied to my mom telling her to have Josh call the pastor as soon as possible! A few interviews later and a night hanging out with the youth students and we were made official! Its been amazing to look back and see God’s hand in all of this process! It just serves to remind us that even though we may think we know what God has planned and what might be good for us or right for us but ultimately He knows best and if we are willing to be obedient and patient He has great plans for all our lives!
The students are so excited and Josh and I are too! Camp is next month so we’ll be thrown in to things immediately and what an awesome opportunity to get to know the students! The commute is about 20-25 min from our house which is wonderful!
If you remember to please be praying for us as we begin this new journey! Please specifically be praying for the students that their hearts would be receptive to what God has to say through Josh. And also be praying for people we can use in leadership in the youth group. We have a great opportunity to build up a leadership team and we definitely want to have wisdom in that choosing process.
We’ll keep you updated! Thank you so much for all your support!

 

Mt. Rainier here he comes!!

So tomorrow morning my adventurous husband is taking off for an expedition to summit Mt. Rainier with 4 other people! The trip was made available to him a few weeks ago and he began hard core training as soon as he found out! This has been on his “to do” list for many years so we’re both pretty excited at the opportunity! Please be praying for safety for the entire group and maybe an extra little measure of safety for Josh! We’ve only been married a little over a month and so far I am LOVING being married to Josh and want him to return home as he left!!

 

One month in and LOVIN it!

As of last saturday we have been married for 1 month! Its hard to believe that its gone by that fast! Thank you to all who came to the wedding to support us and shower us with love! It was such a special day and we truly enjoyed every minute of it! After the wedding we headed down to Palm Springs to stay in a beautiful house for 2 weeks! That was an incredible gift from Nancy and Jeff to us! We enjoyed disneyland, magic mountain, golfing, hiking and relaxing by our private pool and hot tub!!!  We decided two weeks was the perfect amount of time to go on a honeymoon! By the time we were headed home we were ready for real life to start!

As if we hadn’t been blessed enough with our wedding and all that that involved we came home late Saturday night to find that our house had been completely redecorated by Josh’s family and some of his roommates! Our kitchen cabinets were painted with new hardware, there was beautiful tile floor in our bathroom, and new shower stall and they had set up home for us! It was the best gift we could have received for our wedding!

Since we’ve been home we’ve been settling in to life. I started working at the Duvall Starbucks which has been so great! Everyone welcomed me in there and its been fun to see familiar faces coming in the store and in the drive through! The drive thru has been a new experince for me but its been a fun challenge as well!

Josh continues to climb trees during the week for work! Its a tough job and he comes home exhausted but its been a blessing to have that income! Plus it ensures that i hold up my end of our wedding vows by giving him one massage a week!!