Girls Chrysalis Plus New Phones...

This past weekend, I worked a girls Chrysalis event in Leuders. If you've ever heard of the Walk to Emmaus, a Chrysalis event is the Walk to Emmaus for teenagers and young adults. I had a wonderful weekend. I had the honor of serving on the outside team which are asked to serve silently. I absolutely love serving in that way. The young women found freedom, joy, and restoration. It was fabulous. Although it was wonderful, I am absolutely exhausted. To tell you how tired I was, I usually get up between 7:00 - 7:30 am. Well, I slept in till about 10:00. That is highly unusual for me. I guess the Lord knew I needed the extra rest. I'm so glad I was able to be a part of the special weekend in the lives of these young women. It was a blessing for sure.

On Monday, my mom took me to AT&T to get a new cell phone. I was very excited to say the least. I'd had my old phone and sim card for five years. Yea, that is a LONG time in phone years. I got a snazzy little blue phone that has a touchscreen and is very easy to text on. which I love. The only thing I don't like is that my sim card got messed up and needs to be replaced. That will be taken care of tomorrow or Friday I hope. I've had a great few days.

Sisters of Choice...

Carly and Christin during FCA All-Star Week 2009. Love these two girls more than I can desribe

I don't know if I've ever introduced you all to my 'sisters of choice' Christin and Carly Etter. These two precious sisters in real life are the daughters of my parents best friends, Greg and Tina or 'Buster' as Greg is affectionately known in the Cunningham household as well as to all of the children of Highland. Here's a picture of my two 'sisters of choice':

Carly and Christin looking cute at Szchsuan.

I just adore these precious girls and they both have very cherished and treasured places in my heart. They bring me so much joy and love. They truly are my sisters and really really close friends. I am blessed indeed.

This is Carly, Miles and Lily, Christin and Carly's precious cousins whom I love dearly. They are hilarious :)

Showing sisterly love... :)

I am immeasurably blessed to call them family, friends, and my 'sisters of choice'. The Etter family has been such a formative part of my life and I am thankful beyond what I can say to call them special community. I'm so glad the Lord saw the need to create and dwell amongst the company of friends. My life would look so different if I didn't have these kindred people in in to shine the radiance of Christ. I am I think the Lord is so funny sometimes because He knew the dynamics of both the Cunningham and Etter families even before the foundations of the world were established. He knew we would need each other to walk the journey on the earth. I'm so blessed by this family.

Greg aka 'Buster' and Carly aka 'Bear' at a Roughriders indoor football game

To say that I love this family is so far off the mark. I am endebted to them for loving me and all my warts. They have shown me the face and heart of God so many times I cannot even count them all.

My Christin and my precious Daddy or her 'second Daddy'.

I love you Etterlets and Mama and Buster Etter. You are all loved, cherished, and treasured parts of who I am. Thank you so much for choosing to walk with us Cunninghams as we learn to flesh out the Way of Christ in this world through the manifestation of the institution of the family. Bless you guys :)

A Fearless Woman's Battle...

This is my treasured and cherished friend, Kathy Kiser. Unbeknwonst to her, she has become one of my most cherished mentors through the many years of her friendship. I cannot say enough about this fearless, bold, courageous, perservering woman of immense faith, power, and unrelenting and tangible faith. She has shown the the face of Christ Jesus so many times I scarcely can count. Truly, the Lord has used her influence and wisdom; her kindness and compassion; her humble authenticity; and most importantly her ruthless pursuit of excellence before the courts of heaven.

Well, on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 her world was shaken. She, her husband, Jack, their two boys, Cole and Chase, and her precious daughter-in-law, Christi 'Ritchey' Kiser were shocked after exporitory surgery that the doctors diagnosed Kathy with cancer that has metasticized into her liver, her colon, and the lining of her stomach. Now, please know that Kathy Kiser has be endowed with a 'fighter's spirit. She WILL defeat this. She is one of THE most fervent and devoted women of the Lord that I have ever had the honor of knowing intimately. Her oldest son, Cole has been my brother's best friend since second grade. So you can see the many connections our families have shared throughout the years.

If you would PLEASE join me in praying for the entire Kiser family I would certainly appreciate it. First of all pray for Kathy: her strength, her willingness to war with the demons of hell, her stamina and endurance, ever-deepening faith and an unrelenting hope anchored in the Spirit-fueled Body of Christ, and for her spirit to remain constant, faithful, and undaunted by this battle, emotional stamina, and a supernatural knowledge of God's love and delight over her. Next her husband, Jack: that he would continue to be rooted and firmly established in godly counsel, purposes, and things that stir God's heart, that Jack will be able to provide the haven that Kathy will need from this disease, for an agape, deep, commited covenant love relationship to reside between the two of them, their marriage covenant, and whatever else you can think of as a husband and wife team committed to the Lord's ways and teachings. Cole: a willingness to serve his parents, a deep call to prayer, many "spiritual mothers" to surround and hold him up, and for Grant as he ministers to Cole, for Cole to KNOW his Mama will be ok. Chase: same. Christi: unrelenting and growing deep faith, hope, joy, peace, confidence, trust, and a commitment to walk beside Chase in this season of trial.

All of Kathy's community that has committed to surround and love her are claiming Jeremiah 32:27 over her in this season of trial: "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" Please claim this scripture over the Kiser family and over Kathy's precious spirit. She WILL BE AN OVERCOMER!!! Thanks so much. I am so humbled by the power of the Body of Christ and the immense presence of it in the earth.

My List of Must See TV...

I wish I wasn't such a TV watcher, but I am. I really like clean, uplifting, funny shows. Now, in my mind most of what our society deems as appropriate to expose to the American public is downright disgusting and unfit for men, women, and children who want to live holy and set apart lives for our savior Jesus. Here are my favorite shows that I record on a weekly basis.

I LOVE Tyler Perry's House of Payne on TBS. I think Curtis, Ella, CJ, Malik, Jasmine, and Calvin are hilarious. It makes me laugh every time I watch the show. I hurry home from church in order to catch this show. Good thing I live only about 45 seconds from my church building :)

Another show I absolutely adore is another Tyler Perry show on TBS called "Meet The Browns." I honestly think Leroy Brown, or 'Mr. Brown' as he's affectionately known as on the show is rip-roaringly hilarious. I have to make sure and not drink any liquids during this show because I don't want to emty my bladder. It's that entertaining. He is constantly getting concepts and words mixed up and his character is a Holy-Ghost-filled-demon-chasing follower of God. I cannot get enough of this show. I can't wait for 8:00 to roll around every Wednesday night.

"The Little Couple" is another Tuesday night favorite of mine. I have to admit, I am fascinated by this couple--their size, the way they love each other, the fact that they have wonderful, soul-satisfying jobs and so many other things. All I have to say is Go Jen and Bill. I try not to miss this show. And I love their little dog Rocky :)

What Not To Wear is probably one of my top five favorite shows ever. I LOVE Clinton and Stacey's style :) Plus, I just think they make America look so much better. Every night I ask God to send them to me. I think I dress pretty well, but I do tend to look nice but still be casual everyday. I would adore to spend 5 straight days in New York City getting a high-class makeover that would cause people to turn their heads. What girl wouldn't?? Y'all can add that to your prayer list for me as well. Maybe that's God's next gift to me :) A girl can dream can't she?

Blogger is being stubborn and won't let me post my other favorites so I'll just write about them:

Joyce Meyer's "Enjoying Everyday Life" is probably in my top two favorite shows to watch. And I love being able to tune into her show via GodTV. She just gives good, old-fashioned wisdom and I LOVE her style. She constantly keeps me in stiches and she is very, very real and approachable. Just love her to death. I want to live a life of humble excellence before the Lord and she helps me to stay equipped. I don't like to miss her even one day.

I also love to watch TLC's "Cake Boss." I think the family dynamics on that show are funny. And the guy makes beautiful creations out of fondant.

There are many others I enjoy. Maybe I'll make this a two-part post. I am just a person that enjoys good clean, heartwarming television. I don't rush out and see what Hollywood deems worthy of me spending $7 to $8 dollars to see. Hope your shows are keeping you happy and entertained!

Family Time...

I spent a wonderful week in Colorado with my family last week. It was great. There is nothing I love more than spending good quality time with people. I absolutely adore Colorado. I feel so connected to the Lord there. One of my favorite places to hear His voice resides in the mountains there. My sacred place is Williams Creek Resevoir located about 50 miles from Pagosa.

We didn't do too much. We just relaxed, fellowshipped with one another, read, watched movies, and ate good food. Oh, and we did do some antique shopping in Pagosa, Durango, and Bayfield. A Cunningham ladies vacation wouldn't be complete without antique shopping. My brother fished almost the entire time. He has a passion for fly fishing. My daddy just spent the week relaxing and taking naps. He works SO hard and I am thankful the Lord gave him time to be refueled, refreshed, and rested. I adore my family so much and I am so blessed to learn the way of Jesus from the fruit of their lives. It was sad to drop my sister-in-law Laura off in Lubbock when we came into Texas. I was happy that my mom got to spend some good time with Laura in the car to talk and be together.

All in all, it was a wonderful time as a family. I'm thankful for times like these. I really treasure them. I also really like that God gave me a love for people. There's nothing more fulfilling in my mind than being invested and part of other people's lives. I hope you've had a great vacation this summer.

A Mountain Girl...

This family vacation is confirming one thing about my personality. I am definitely a mountain girl. There is just something that really resonates with me when I see mountains in a landscape. They calm me. They remind me of God's granduer. I love being able to look out and enjoy their beauty. I love mountains. That's all there is to it.