Life in L-burg

Finally.........

2008-10-30T20:19:00.002-04:00

A new post! :) Ahhhh...where to begin? The last time I updated this, I had just completed ONE week of teacher training. Oh my word... I had no idea, NO idea. I mean, nothing prepares you, really.
I just want to give a quick update & let all of you out there know how teaching is going for me - I can honestly say that overall, it's going GREAT!!! Am I exhausted pretty much everyday? YES! (First graders have a ton of energy) Do I ever get frustrated? Absolutely. (First graders don't always listen the first time - surprising, I know! I do A LOT of repeating directions, tying shoes, etc. Plus, this is my 1st year teaching, which they say is the hardest.) Yet with all the frustrations that accompany teaching first grade, I love those munchkins. I'm convinced that if I didn't genuinely love my 23 students, things would be much much harder and I wouldn't be able to say that things are going so great.

Random stuff that's going around in my head that you might be interested in: I've learned a lot by trial and error...I try to pray for each child before they come into the classroom. For them and for their families. I've dealt with a plethora of issues - some that would make you laugh until you cry, and some that would just plain 'ole make you cry.
There is a half day tomorrow - the kids leave at 12 - we teachers have an in-service day... I'm really looking forward to having a break (Thanksgiving!) which is right around the corner, praise the Lord.
Robbie is working the 3-11 shift, which is really hard at times.... 'cuz I get home around 4ish :( & he just comes home for dinner... and there is no way that I can stay up till 11:30 when he gets home.. I just keep reminding myself that it isn't forever!! :) Robbie is doing well in all his classes... he's registered for next semester - taking 17 credits, I think& Lord willing, he'll graduate in May of 2010.

We're going to the Mercy Me concert tomorrow & then we're off to VA Beach to visit with some family & gettoutta town for the weekend :)

Have a great day/night! Hopefully, it won't take me 2 months to update this blog again! TTYL everyboday! :) & thanks for your prayers

Erika & Robbie

A Quick Update

2008-08-22T20:10:00.004-04:00

Well, one week of new teacher orientation down, one week of orientation left!! School starts Sept. 2nd and boyyyyyyy, am I starting to feel nervous! :) (I'd appreciate all the prayers I can get!!)

Robbie started classes August 18th & says he really enjoys all of his classes/professors, which is always a plus.

We want to give a HUGE shout out to Mom & Meemsly for coming (and to Dad for allowing your wifey to be gone a week +!! ) and helping Robbie & I in so many ways (i.e. cleaning, getting organized, cooking, etc.) You two are such a blessing and we love & miss you TONS!!! :) Ok, now will ya just move down here??

Oh! We are officially moved out of our old apartment.. if you would like our new address, just email one of us.

Hope all is well with whoever is reading this & that you've had a great summer. God bless!

With love,

Robbie & Erika

ONE MORE DAY!!!!!

2008-07-30T10:23:00.002-04:00

My beautiful & good friend, Lexi, (on left) surprised me this morning by putting up balloons and streamers last night after work. I was SO suprised & tickled pink :) My last day in the call center is tomorrow (Hallelujah!) and she wanted me to have the party-like atmosphere "for more than just one day", she said. :) I have had the BEST co-workers in the world!! I will really miss you, Larry & Lexi!! Thanks again, Lex, for the cool surprise-going-away-party!! & Larry, for the countless sweet tea's you graciously bestowed upon me when you were on your drive abouts. Y'all are the bomb.

2008-07-30T10:13:00.001-04:00

2008-07-30T09:58:00.001-04:00

don't worry, BEE happy!

2008-07-28T11:01:00.003-04:00

so... on Saturday, Robbie and i went to Farmville to look at furniture (we were not impressed, by the way: the furniture was a lot more expensive than we had heard it was, plus, it was wicked hot/humid, but turned out to be fun, as we just determined to have a good time and make memories!! we stopped to eat at Subway on the way home, took some pictures to document the trip, and laughed about the crazy prices for little itty-bitty furniture pieces. ridiculous.)

anyways, on our way home i had my hand out the window when all of a sudden - WHACK!! something hit my hand - hard!! (between my thumb and pointer finger). I yelped and Robbie asked me, "What's wrong?? Are you okay??" i thought i was ok at the time, i didn't know if it was a huge or small bug - but whatever it was made contact with me going 60+ miles per hour!! but, two days later i wasn't ok... i guess that stupid insect injected some of his poison into me?? i woke up this morning and my right hand was swelling up pretty quickly! Robbie had already left for work... so, what did i do? i called my mom!! lol, thankfully she answered & praise the Lord i had an epi-pen handy (have to 'cuz i'm really allergic to bee's!) & she talked me through it (told me to pretend i was a drug addict & needed to stick myself - fast!!) hehehe.. i think it took me something like 45 mins just to get my courage up to go through with what i knew i had to do. i ended up jabbing the needle into my thigh as directed, but it was hard to do!! lol

this is what came to my mind after having stuck myself with the needle (which did hurt, but not as much as i thought it would!) : how hard must it have been - really - for Jesus to die on the cross. most of us know it was necessary for Him to do so, ("without the shedding of blood, there is no remission") but it often escapes my mind how fully human He was, as well as fully God & the excruciating pain He willingly went through (waaaay more pain than i will ever experience) - knowing a head of time how much it would hurt Him. wow. (no wonder when He prayed the night before he sweat drops of blood!) my little ordeal this morning just made me really appreciate Jesus/my salvation and went He went through on the cross on my behalf - and yours!

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the castisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. "

Isaiah 53:3-6

A Day Worth Remembering

2008-07-23T10:15:00.003-04:00

Today marks the 20th year anniversary of my father’s (David R. Payne) death. If you have a spare moment & would like to read more about how he died, please visit the following websites.
Also, my mom was called by a newspaper reporter last night, who interviewed her over the phone about the last 20 years living life after losing her high school sweetheart. I’ve included the link if you’d like to read the article.

http://www.onlyoneson.org/ – my “old dad’s” website
http://www.sunjournal.com/story/275439-3/LewistonAuburn/Decades_of_healing/- mom’s article (that has been printed in all newspapers throughout the state of Maine! Praise the Lord for her positive Christian testimony!) (if you're finding that the link expires, go to http://www.sunjournal.com/ and click on Lewiston/Auburn, then click on "Decades of Healing" (the title of the article).

I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of this story - a story where God's love & grace is so evident... My heart is overwhelmed with praise for God's provision in our lives - specifically for bringing my "new dad" into our lives. He is exactly what Mom, Evan, and I needed & I am SO fortunate to have been blessed with another earthly father. I can't imagine my life without my dad, and Mike, and Chris. There are my family & I'm proud of it!! I look forward to a great reunion in heaven someday!!

Have a great (Wednes)day everyone!

God bless,
Erika

Fun times with Mom & Pops!

2008-07-16T15:26:00.012-04:00

Mom and Dad came to L-burg for, what I consider to be, a much needed visit! We were missin' 'em bad!! The last time we'd seen them was in NJ around late April, I think it was (Evan, Alicia, Robbie, and I met Mom, Dad, & Mimi at theCarter's house, where Mike & Sarah are staying to meet Josie Grace for the first time!!) Anyways, Robbie and I love it when my parents/his in-laws come... we all have such a great time ... & I really think they bless us more than we bless them! and I don't think I thank the Lord enough for giving them to me as my parents! :)
Here are some pictures from their recent visit! Thanks, Mom & Dad, for coming!! We love you guys SO much ~ Robbie & Erika

LCA: All the way!

2008-07-01T15:35:00.004-04:00

So... I have good news to report :) The principal at LCA called me about 2 weeks ago now and asked if I would be interested in interviewing for a 1st grade teacher position. Wow! I was SO happy to get that phone call. I immediately said "yes" & later that week went through the whole interviewing process - met with the principal and the superintendent & found out last Friday that I was accepted to fulfill the 1st grade teacher position @ LCA (click on "LCA: All the way!" to visit the school's website) I start August 18 with new teacher orientation & classes begin after Labor Day. I am excited/nervous/anxious to get the curriculum & start the lesson planning!!!

We have a prayer request though: would you please pray - more than ever - that Robbie would get a full time job at LU? (my new position as teacher only covers tuition benefits for me) This is weighing heavily on our hearts right now - we KNOW God is faithful and He has a plan & He PROVIDES - and boy, does He ever! ... we're just trying hard to trust Him through the uncertainty of it all.... I'm sure you've been there & understand where we're at! (Psalm 130: 5, "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I put my hope.")

Robbie quit his second part-time job at the church last night. He had had enough. Long story short: he caught his co-worker stealing $ from the church by being dishonest with clocking in & out (something that happened many times) and furthermore, left the majority of the workload (cleaning, that took hours for him to do alone) for him to do. Robbie talked with one of the pastors at the church and left on good terms, but was so frustrated with the whole situation he thought it best to leave... sometimes the $ isn't worth the headache! and in this case, it definitely wasn't!!

Last thing I wanted to update you all on is that we are looking for a new place to live. So, I guess that's another prayer request too. Our lease ends in two months (we have opted to be outta there no later than August 31st - we've realized that there is a lot more out there and for the same price we're paying now, we could have 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths!)... we haven't settled on anything yet & just need God's direction in this area.

We'll keep you posted! Thanks so much for praying ~ Hope you're having a great summer! :)

"I can cry if I want to!"

2008-06-17T10:39:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow is my birthday! Woo-hoo :) Big 'ole 25! 1/4 of a century! I'm excited, birthdays are always fun :) Mom and Dad sent me a package and I'm going to pick it up at the post office today on my lunch break! I told Robbie not to get anything for me as I am going on a 4 night, 5 day cruise in late September (the 22 -26) with Carrie, Charis, and Dani. We're going with Carnival to the Florida Keys, and Cozumel, Mexico! Can't wait :)

Anyways, as I reflect over my life, I am just so thankful for my family & friends and the wonderful memories & life experiences that God has allowed me to have. He is so good and I am so grateful ~ most of all, for my growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Last week, I had my grad. intensive course in "Communications in Ministry" - what an excellent class! I learned so much and met 9 other interesting people from all over the country. It was a nice break from answering phone calls :) & I really enjoyed being back in the classroom.
I have 3 more classes to take now - "Ministry in Teaching" is my last 8 week online class; the following two classes are only offered on campus! Starting on August 18 - Dec. 12, I will be taking "Foundations in Youth Ministry" and "Purpose Driven Ministries" and then... I'll be done with my Master's!! :)

Robbie is extremely busy working two part time jobs. He continues as a fire alarm tech @ LU and then drives over to a local church, where he works hard as a janitor. Please pray for him - for strength & encouragement & a full-time position!! He would love to quit cleaning at the church & just get a full time job at Liberty ~ we are praying that this will happen SOON, as the fire alarm position is only for the summer. We covet your prayers in this regard - thank you!

Robbie will be starting his 3rd semester here at LU on August 18th. We estimate that he will graduate either December or May of 2010. He has talked about getting his Master's degree through LU as well (espeically if he gets a full time position here) ~ so we may be staying in Lynchburg a bit longer than originally planned, but we'll see what the Lord has for us! :)

As for those interested in what happened with the "Campbell" house situation, let me give you an update! It is not God's perfect timing & we are really okay with that!! There may be a time in the future when we'll end up getting a house here in L-burg, but even if there's not, we are content to rent! (hey! that rythmes!) We realize that trying to force something (buying a house!!) - especially something that's outside of the will of God - is just not a very smart thing to do.

Anyways, I hope you are all having a wonderful summer day! God bless you & your families. *And thank you for keeping in touch with the Reyes family!! :)

James 1:5 & 6....

2008-06-05T14:19:00.007-04:00

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind."

Hello everyone! Robbie and I are asking that you join us in prayer as we seek the Lord's will in our lives as to what His perfect plan would be - to buy or not to buy; that is the question!

If you have a minute or two, click the reference at the top & it will take you to another website where you will be able to see the house (2347 Campbell Avenue, Lynchburg, VA) that we are very intertested in - in fact, we LOVE this house; however, we are in need of some serious godly wisdom. It's a lot of money for us - for most people! We are thinking of the future and would like to invest in a house like this instead of $$$ going for a rental apartment each month. We want to make a wise financial decision and pray God will lead us to make the right one! :)

Thank you for supporting the Reyes family in prayer. (We'll keep you updated on what happens!)

WAIT a minute!

2008-05-23T12:06:00.002-04:00

Greetings from L-burg, VA!
The weather has warmed up considerably here. It has been and is predicted to be in the 80’s throughout next week. I’m lovin’ it! Would you believe that Robbie actually prefers the cold, winter weather?!?
Speaking of Robbie, allow me give you an update on him! He has been busy working two jobs – he serves as a fire alarm technician at the university (from 7-3:30, M-F) and then works as a janitor at a local Baptist church (4-9:30, M-F). He had an interview earlier this week to work at LU as a translator (English to Spanish) and so, he is waiting to hear back from those people if he got what would be a part-time job.
I continue to work in the Student Service Center answering phone calls. You know me, I don’t sit well – especially not in a cubicle where I hardly have any people interaction!! I have been here for almost a year now and I can’t help but think that God has specific reasons for why He has given me this particular job and for why I am still here.
Robbie and I have learned a lot from our time here in Virginia. “Hurry up and wait” seems to be what we have ended up doing time and time again… especially in regards to job opportunities! Recently, God has been impressing on my heart to wait for HIS perfect timing. There is nothing better, and yet, so very often I become anxious and I worry about the future, even though I know I’m not supposed to (Philippians 4:6-7).
God used the following devotional message to speak to my heart earlier this week and I would like to share it with you. Perhaps someone reading this will be just as encouraged and challenged as I was:

God, Could You Please Hurry?
Amy Carroll
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."
Ecclesiastes 3: 11 (NIV)

Devotion:
Those of us that have lived in rural areas know that tractors on the road are a fact of life. However, just because they are a fact of life doesn't make them any less irritating if you're in a hurry! I followed a tractor down one of our narrow two-lane roads recently. At one point I completely lost my patience for its pace and started yelling (unheard--thank goodness), "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" It didn't speed up the tractor at all.
How many times have I approached God's timing the same way? And it never hurries Him up either.
I admit God often does not operate at a pace that pleases me, and I want Him to hurry, hurry, hurry! I'm thinking Sarah, Abraham's wife, felt the same way. After waiting 10 years for a baby that God had promised Abraham (read Genesis 12-21 for the complete story), Sarah decided to "help" God. Surely 10 years was too long for anybody to wait. So Sarah gave her maidservant Hagar to her husband, and the two of them had a child. Soon the two women were at odds. Talk about a soap-opera! Finally, fifteen years later, the child promised by God to Abraham and Sarah was born. God was not late. His timing was perfect. It was Sarah who was in a hurry and rushing things, but she found out that there was a price to pay for manipulating her circumstances.
I know Sarah and I are not alone in our desire for God to hurry up. I once heard it said that we are people with gods on our wrists.
In Isaiah 55:9, God says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (NIV) God's timing is part of His ways. I may be tapping my watch, but He is never late. He may seem slow, but He is always right on time.
Has God made a promise to you that is slow in coming? Has He planted a dream in your heart that has yet to come to fruition? Don't give up hope! God is faithful, and you can rely on His perfect timing. Fix your eyes on Him and enjoy the journey to your destination. There are things to be learned along the way that will enhance the joy of a promise fulfilled.
Dear Lord, sometimes I don't understand your timing. It's often very hard to wait, but I trust You. I want to rely on Your ways and Your timing. Help me to learn what I need to learn as I wait. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Reflections:
Am I truly committed to waiting for God's timing?
What does God want me to learn in times of waiting?
Power Verses:
Psalm 130:5, "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope." (NIV)
2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (NIV)

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!! God bless you and your families, and may you know the Savior better today than you did yesterday, for *it’s one day nearer the Lord’s return!!*

Hugs of Love,
Robbie and Erika

“O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.” Isaiah 25:1

Craaaaaaaa-ZEE!

2008-04-30T14:42:00.002-04:00

Last day of April! This month seemed to fly by! Here's what's new: My "lil" brother, Evan David, graduates from Tennessee Temple this Monday, May 5; I'm going to TN this weekend to see him graduate (Robbie can't come b/c he has a theology final :( which his prof won't let him reschedule! Bummer.) umm.. work is crazy - so many people call in as it gets closer to the LU graduation... i've never dealt with angrier people (especially mothers) in my whole life! why are they angry and yell at me over the phone ? for no good reason!! ahhggg i LOVE my job...anyways, Robbie's doing well - he'll be glad to finish up this semester & have a bit of a break! although he is taking 4 DLP summer courses...work is going well for him at the church where he is one of the janitors.. we're still praying that he'd get a job here at LU so i can be done answering phone calls.. FOREVER!! lol.... i would said, "it's not that bad" but i really can't say that these last couple of weeks.. ok, so this post has turned into a spill your guts session.. but, hey! i feel better :)

It's a GIRL!!!!

2008-04-18T13:40:00.003-04:00

I am the proud aunt of Josephine ("Josie") Grace Barnhart - born 10:35pm on April 10th, weighing 7lbs 3 ounces - praise the Lord! Mom and baby doing great! Mike and Sarah chose to name their baby in honor of our brother, Christopher Joseph, who went home to be with the Lord, October 4th, 2004.
Robbie, Evan, Alicia (Ev's girlfriend), and I will be traveling to NJ this weekend to meet the new addition to the family! :)
Thanks for sharing in my excitement of being an aunt :) Have a great weekend & God bless!

With Love,
Erika

P.S. ALSO!! another "PTL": Robbie has gotten a better job & has left Macado's (the restaurant). They were sad to see him go, as he made friends fast & earned a great & godly reputation as a helpful 'n hard worker, but they understood to need to earn a better wage & they wished him well. Robbie is now working as a janitor at a church in the area called Hyland Heights Baptist Church. Today was his second day - he told me that he vaccumed for two hours straight!! (the sanctuary is pretty big!) He likes it so far - the people he works with are very nice & welcoming, so I am praising the Lord for that! We are still waiting to hear if Robbie got any positions that he applied for at LU - God's will be done! We sincerely thank you for your prayers, as it can be hard to wait for His perfect timing. ;)

Life goes on in Lynchburg...

2008-03-17T11:45:00.005-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! (To learn more about the history of this holiday, click on the above title for this post!)
I've always considered March to be such a strange, "blah" kind of a month... a month that seems to crawl instead of fly by! Is this true for anyone else out there?? Hmm... Oh well! :)
Life goes on in Lynchburg... It's Spring Break for Robbie this week - he is currently babysitting/tutoring 2 little kids in Spanish. He was hired to teach the kids (ages 3 and 1) Spanish a few hours a week as their mom does paperwork for her husband, who is a dentist; however, the kiddos are very young, so it's basically a babysitting job! He enjoys it for now.. he is also working part-time as a host at a restaurant named Macado's (it's like a Bennigan's or an AppleBee's). It's not his favorite, but God is good & provides! Thank you to all who knew that Robbie needed a job and were praying for him! Ideally, it would be best for both of us if Robbie found a job working at Liberty University. We are now praying to that end! :)

My 5th and 6th Distance Learning Classes started today ("Interpersonal Communications" and "Group Dynamics") - I have four more to take after these next eight weeks! I am excited/ look forward to completing my Master's degree in Human Services in the Fall of 2008.

This weekend one of my dearest friends, Carrie Ferguson, came to visit all the way from PA! We had a great time and it was so good to catch up again! Thanks for your friendship, Care. You're the best & I love ya lots! :)

Happily Ever After...

2008-02-28T15:24:00.003-05:00

Just wanted everybody to know how AWESOME my hunky hubby is! Robbie picked me up from work yesterday & when I hopped in the Jeep (after what I considered a long day at the office answering phone call after phone call) I spotted my favorites from Starbucks: (or as Evan would say, "Starsucks") Chai Tea Latte & an oatmeal raisin cookie. What an encouragement & cool surprise that was for me! Isn't that sweet? He definitely knows how to encourage me - by giving me FOOD!! LOL... I just love the fact that he knows me so well -my likes and dislikes, etc. We just get along so well & so enjoy spending time with each other... for instance, last night we just hung out in the apartment together. We both probably should've been doing homework, but instead we just felt like spending time together veggin' out on the couch. Robbie "scolded" me for cleaning up the kitchen & said that the dishes could wait, but he could not & that he wanted me to watch a movie with him on the couch! :) We watched, Cheaper By the Dozen 2 -it was cute & fun :)
Honey, si estas leyendo esto, muchas gracias otra vez! eres muy chido - lo maximo y te amo condo todo mi corazon! :)
Anyways, I am so thankful to God for the relationship that I have with my husband and my best friend, Roberto Reyes Rodriguez & just wanted to share it with the whole wide world! :)

What A Week!!

2008-02-21T12:16:00.007-05:00

Mom and Dad left Lynchburg early this morning & we're sad to see them go! :( ..... they are now headed to spend tonight (Thursday) with Mike, Sarah, and baby (who is due to make his/her appearance April 12, 2008!) Robbie and I had a GREAT time with mom and dad (Feb 15-21, '08) They arrived last Friday afternoon and we met up with them and Alicia (Evan's girlfriend) at our favorite restaurant in Lynchburg, El Pueblo Viejo! From there we went home, unpacked a bit and headed out to see LU's rendition of a Shakespearan play called, Much Ado About Nothing - which was great & we all enjoyed it very much! We did a bunch of other fun-filled activities such as: attended a LU girl's bball game, mom and I got a massage (thanks, Dad!!), we played several games of Skip-Bo & a new game called Blokus!, got spiritually refreshed as we listened to excellent speakers at Campus Church, Thomas Road, and Convo, organized - and then some (thanks, Mom!!), and just enjoyed the time we had with one another!! They encouraged and blessed our hearts so much. Robbie and I were talking about how grateful we are for the special relationship that we have with them.

A huge blessing about living in Lynchburg is that we have SO many great opportunities to hear a variety of amazing speakers, concerts, etc. I am so happy that one of those amazing opportunities we had, we got to share with my dad and mom, Bill and Karen Barnhart.
I don't know if you've seen the movie, The End of the Spear, but the little boy pictured in that film represents Steve Saint. His father, Nate Saint, was one of five other missionaries killed by Waodani tribesman on January 8, 1956 in the jungles of Ecuador. Mincaye (pictured below & praise the Lord now a Christ-follower) is the one who killed Steve's father so many years ago. Just an incredible story - my heart was so touched by their message. If you'd like to hear what we heard & were blessed by, go to http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=9002 and select Steve Saint, The Macedonian Call on 2-20-08.

Incredibly, Robbie had the chance to meet and talk with Steve and Mincaye - twice! They were in his missions class. I am so proud of him - he had someone take his picture with them on two separate occasions! I'm including those pictures, as well as some others that we took during convocation on Wednesday. Robbie also bought the book, Walk His Trail and had them both sign it! (Mincaye put his thumbprint and Steve Saint had a stamp that says, "Mincaye"! Thought that was cute!) *Notice Robbie's brown shirt in one of the photos!

Anyways, mom and dad, if you're reading this, THANK YOU for such a fun-filled week, and for blessing us in SO many ways - we sure do love you guys!! Come back to visit anytime!

TGIF!

2008-02-01T12:15:00.000-05:00

Anyone else glad it's Friday? This week has been so bizarre.. let me take a few lines to explain... Monday, I didn't go to work due to migraines, plus I just needed an extra day - I like to call it a "mental health day".. (which are definitely necessary working in a call center!) and then Tuesday, I came to work, but left at 1:15 with a fever and a congested head! Wednesday and Thursday I was out as well... & believe me, it was no picnic. I was in bed covered with blankets, (just couldn't get warm enough), coughing like crazy, and my head hurt oh so bad! You've probably been there & know what I'm talking about. But - praise the Lord, it's Friday, I'm at work once again, & I'm on the mend!!
I want to share with the world how great Robbie has been to me especially over this past week while I've been under the weather. Although he has lost sleep (due to my coughing fits) he has never complained - not even once!! He massages my back until I've fallen back to sleep, he has made me several REAL lemon teas (which are so good & work wonders - you gotta try it sometime!), he has not let me in the kitchen at all (well, only to hug him), he has done all the cooking, and washing all the dishes & putting them away!! Do I have the best husband or what!?!? :) I'm pretty sure I do! I picked a winner (which must run in the family b/c my mom has a history of picking winners as well :)
Anywho, Robbie's 29th birthday is tomorrow (Feb. 2). When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he replied, "A job" :( Poor guy! I think it's really getting to him that he hasn't been hired yet.. and he has applied at several places here in the Lynchburg area... it's so hard here - other people I've talked with are having difficult times with trying to get hired as well. So weird. Anyways, we'd so appreciate your prayers concerning an employment opportunity for Robbie. We're just taking it one day at a time & trusting the Lord - we know He is faithful and He will provide!! Although His timing is not our timing, we just have to keep reminding one another that His timing is BEST!
I hope everyone has a great/relaxing/fun-filled weekend! Go Patriots!! :)

Long time/No see!

2008-01-24T09:48:00.001-05:00

I know, I know.. it's been awhile since I've posted anything on here - my bad! I was talking to Robbie about it & he thought it would be a great idea for this blog to become more or less like our "missionary blog" to keep everyone updated on what is happening in our lives, how God is working, and leading us. SO, hopefully, this will give me a lot more motivation to keep this blog updated! :)

It's Spritiual Life Emphasis week here at Liberty University. The speaker is David Nasser - ever heard of him? Before yesterday, I had never, but he is an incredible & very gifted speaker from Alabama - orgininally from Iran. Last night, he challenged thousands of us in the Vine's Center to love and serve God by reaching the hungry and the poor. He stated that yesterday alone, 35,000 people died of starvation. Can you imagine? He challenge was for us, as the church, to do our part.
In John 6, a young boy does his part by bringing what little food he had and giving it to Jesus. What a beautiful picture of what Christ asks of us today! It is not my responsibility to feed all 35,000 people; (just as the young boy simply could not share his food with 4,999 other families!) however, David Nasser reminded us that it IS my (our) responsibility, as a child of God, to do what I can, to bring what little (or a lot!) that I have, & give it to Him. ("To whom much is given, much is required") How assuring it is to know that He is soverign, faithful and just; He will multiply what little I bring to Him, do miracles, (just like He performed in John 6) and provide for the hungry and for the poor.
Mr. Nasser went on to ask us to bring a "jean offering" (the price of how much our jeans/pants were) and donate that money tonight, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008, to help feed the hungry and to help the poor here in American and across the world to better reach the world for Christ!
Needless to say, my heart was touched and I was challenged - BIG time! Since last night, I've been thinking of ways to reach out in my community, here in Lynchburg and across the world. I am praying about what more God would have me do for Him.
If you would like to hear the message that I heard, click on the link below. I know that as of now, LU's tech team has uploaded one of his four messgaes & will be probably be uploading the rest of them as time goes on, so check it out! I hope they are as encouraging to you as they are to me! :)
http://www.liberty.edu/index.cfm?PID=9002

On a personal note, Robbie and I have been very happily married for over a year now!! December 31st, 2007 marked our first year wedding anniversary :) As we look over the past year, we praise the Lord for how He saved us both from drowning in the ocean in Cancun, MX, blessed us with wonderful & supportive family members, and led us to Lynchburg, VA!
Robbie continues his studies at Liberty University & is working hard as a junior with a major in youth pastoral (his 2nd semester taking all of his courses in English!!) He had a great 1st semester & did extremely well (can you tell I'm pretty proud of him?!)
I am still working on a master's degree in human services w/a Christian ministries specialization. Lord willing, I'll be completing the deree this summer, which I'm really excited about.
I think that's it for now... I'll write more soon & I promise it won't take me 2 months to update this blog again! :)

Merry Thanksgiving!?

2007-11-15T15:05:00.001-05:00

It's not even Thanksgiving yet, but practically ever store I've been in to is decorated with Christmas lights and Santa Clauses. So weird!! Speaking of Thanksgiving and Christmas... I'm so excited to be able to go home!! It'll be a quick trip - Robbie & I are leaving this next Wednesday morning for Ticonderoga.. We'll have to head home on Sunday :( gotta be back to work on Monday, but I'm trying not to think about that right now and just praying that the 3 full days we have will just crawl by... Since we'll be in Mexico for Christmas to visit Rob's family (Dec-15-30) we'll be celebrating Christmas with my family next weekend! This will be a first for me - being away from my fam at Christmastime. I will definitely be calling home from MX on Christmas day!! Don't get me wrong, I'll be happy to spend the holidays with Rob's family - I mean, they're my family too & I love them dearly.. but it'll just be waaaay different. Rob's parents don't really celebrate Christmas, from what Rob and his sister's tell me.. whereas my parents go all-out!! Hands-down, Christmas is the best holiday ever and we have such super fun traditions! Like, taking turns to opens gifts and opening them every half hour.. in our home, Christmas lasts the whole day for us, starting with a fabulous breakfast my dad makes - his famous biscuits and sausage gravy!! (with help from Mimi, who usually makes the biscuits!) mmMMmmm Boy!! Which reminds me, I better ask them to add that to the menu so we don't miss out on that while we're there!! :)
I think Robbie and I will decorate our Christmas tree before we leave for NY... ;)

CrAzInEsS, cRaZiNeSs is what i long for.......

2007-11-02T11:56:00.000-04:00

no no no... just kidding. Holiness, holiness is what I long for!
Life is kinda crazy right now and quite frankly, I couldn't imagine it getting any crazier! Wouldn't want it to either.. even though things can get very hectic, I musn't forget that God won't give me anything that I can't handle & that life is so GOOD! I am so incredibly blessed... my salvation, an awesome husband, a loving family, my health... the list goes on!

I'm almost in my third week now of DLP classes. The classes I'm taking (Counseling and Human Services) are so interesting. My plans for tonight are to finish up a 4 page paper, read & study for a test, and go grocery shopping. Robbie and his friend Lucas, whom he met at RGBI, ( Lucas is from NC & is staying with us this weekend & checking out LU) will be at a men's conference tonight from 4:30-9:30 and tomorrow morning - 7:30-1pm. I plan on getting lots done! :)

19 more days till we see Mom, Dad, Mimi, and Winston! 43 more days till we see Rob's family in Mexico! :) Can't wait!!

Sunday Snooze-a-roo...

2007-10-21T14:11:00.000-04:00

I like taking naps from time to time - especially on a Sunday ... but I usually don't for fear that I'm gonna miss out on some excitement, know what I mean? Today is like that. I could probaby easily fall asleep on Uncle Rob & Aunt Deb's comfy tan colored couch, but the Patriots are playing, the sun is shining, Aunt Deb is making apple sqaures, and the aroma of coffee fills the air.. plus, I have some reading to get done for school. Too exciting to pause and take a Sunday snooze-a-roo!!

Robbie has to go and help out at a church tonight for one of his class assignments. Alicia, who is in the same class as Robbie, is gonna pick him up at our place and they'll drive to the church together, which leaves me the Jeep! :) I haven't decided what to do with my two hours yet.. maybe go out and do a little Christmas shopping.. call some family members,... write some snail-mail... as Bumpa used to say, "We'll see how the cookie crumbles!".

Welp, I gotta hit the books, people! Take care & TTYL ;) Hugs of Love, Ricky Lynn

::YAWN::

2007-10-17T09:04:00.000-04:00

It's Wednesday 9am... I would probably still be sleeping if it were Saturday. We had a great weekend with Mom & Mimi! So glad they were able to come and stay with us :) It was good to catch up with Evan again too (we see him a bit more regularly than we see M & M!)
We took a lot of fun pictures while they were here... will be putting them up soon, I promise!!
I'm reading "A Bend in the Road" by Nicholas Sparks right now... it's good so far - interesting. I like his style of writing. Evan does too - actually, he's the one that let me borrow this book. I've also read some of Sparks' other books too - "The Wedding", "The Guardian", "A Walk to Remember", and "Message in a Bottle". After reading "The Guardian" I wanted to get myself a Great Dane for the longest time....until I realized how many pounds of dog food I would be required to buy on a weekly basis.
I will be starting school again soon -Yikes! That's 5 more days!! I'm enrolled in Liberty's Distance Learning Program (DLP). That reminds me - Aunt Debbie is too! I wonder how she's feeling about it.. I looked at the course workload just yesterday - there is a lot to do!! and I'm just taking 6 credit hours. It'll be fine though :) I'm actually kinda looking forward to it all... Robbie ordered my books for me online & I brought one of 'em in today to get started on the reading. I'm getting my Master's in "Human Services w/ a Christian Ministries Specialization". :) Well... that's all for now.. pretty soon, I'll be headed over to convocation (chapel) held in the sanctuary at Thomas Road Baptist Church. I believe Josh McDowell is speaking today, which will be really cool to hear him...
Have a great day, everyone! :)

TGIF!

2007-10-12T09:14:00.000-04:00

It's Friday!! Who doesn't love 'em, huh? Mom and Mimi arrived safe 'n sound Wednesday night. We (M & M, Robbie & I) reunited at "El Pueblo Viejo" - our favorite Mexican restaurant here in Lynchburg! It was SO fun! and SO great to see them again! We're having such a wonderful time together... LU's convocation is at 10am & so M & M are coming for that. They'll pick me up here at North Campus and we'll drive over to the Vine's Center, where convo is held. Dr. Ergun Caner is speaking & the LU praise and worship team is singing this am, so they'll see LU at it's finest! :) The weekend starts at 12 for me!! :) We've invited Kristle (a buddy of mine) & Alicia (Evan's g/f) to eat lunch with us at the food court here on North Campus around noon.
I've already taken several pictures, which I intend to download & post this afternoon...

Chueco?

2007-10-09T10:25:00.000-04:00

It's Tuesday. Normally, I'm not a big fan... And although I don't lean toward the side of pessimism, sometimes it seems as if it's just another day to get through before one can enjoy the weekend... :) Anybody else feel like that? For some reason today is going by really fast though. Plus, Mom and Mimi are coming tomorrow night & I've taken Thursday off from work & only have to work 1/2 day of Friday, so in light of all this, today's not looking so bad.

What in the world does "chueco" mean? It's kind of a little joke between Robbie and me, but I thought I'd let everyone in on it. "Chueco" is the Spanish for "crooked" ... for instance, if there was a crooked stop sign or something one might correctly say, "Esta chueco". It's just one of my favorite phrases to say in Spanish. Actually, I tend to overuse it (especially when something/someone strikes me as being weird) and that's pretty much why it's cause for laughter in our home. Now you know! :)

P.s. I plan on posting more pictures in the near future... stay tuned!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SARAH ELIZABETH BARNHART!!!! :) We love you muchly!

What a wonderful weekend....

2007-10-08T08:34:00.000-04:00

...Robbie and I had together! Went by waaaayyy too fast, but it sure was fun!! On Friday, we watched "Motorcycle Diaries" (a very interesting non-fiction Spanish film) and just hung out together. For dinner, I cooked up one of Robbie's favorite - prime rib! :) We slept in till 'bout 10 or so on Saturday morning. Then I remembered about this place Uncle Rob & Aunt Deb told us about in downtown Lynchburg called the "Farmer's Market". I suggested to Robbie that we go check it out & so we did & it was really cool! I think there would've been more produce if we had gotten there a bit earlier, but we walked all around visiting the many different furniture shops and other neat little stores. We want to bring Mom and Mimi there & so we'll try to get up and get there a little earlier next Sat. morning. (Speaking of Mom & Mimi!! They are coming this Wednesday night!! :) YEA!! I'm so excited to see them!! It's been since early August since we've seen them but to me, it seems much longer than that. They will be staying with us till Monday morning!) Later that day, after the Farmer's Market, Robbie and I ate "brunch" at Ihop then moysied on home and relaxed and just enjoyed each other's company.

Yesterday, after church, we went over to the Ritz's house - ate Aunt Deb's good food, did our laundry, drank some coffee, played the guitar with Nathan (he's so talented! and he's giving ME lessons!!) ... oh! and Uncle Rob went over with Robbie after we ate lunch to put up my hammock that Robbie bought for me in MX. I am so excited!! I love hammocks. Thanks again, Uncle Rob for hanging that up for me! And thanks Robbie for buying it for me - I love it! ...It's so fun to go over there, to the Ritz's I mean. Robbie and I both love spending our Sunday afternoon's with them. ....By far, this was the best weekend I've had in a long time, and I have God and my family to thank for it.

2007-10-04T15:21:00.000-04:00

3 years ago today, my older brother, Christopher Joseph Barnhart, went home to be with the Lord. He was 24 years old. Chris died in his sleep at Pensacola Christian College in FL. We all miss him a lot & rejoice in the fact that we'll see him again someday, along with our other loved ones. Praise God for the hope we have as believers in Him!

2007-10-04T09:14:00.001-04:00

I've just figured out how to upload pictures and post them... surprisingly enough, I'm not very computer savvy - even though I work with one all day long! Thanks to Aunt Debbie, I have these photos to post! These pictures were taken this past weekend (9/29/07) at Sonic (pre-game) and the LU football stadium - we missed you Mom & Dad AND Mike and Sarah & Baby Barnhart!!!!! :)

Fun with the Fam!

2007-10-04T09:09:00.000-04:00

2007-10-04T09:05:00.000-04:00

2007-10-04T09:03:00.000-04:00

LU football game with the fam!

2007-10-04T08:59:00.000-04:00

Nathan and Robbie

2007-10-04T08:53:00.001-04:00

First Day with Blogger!

2007-10-03T15:39:00.000-04:00

I really took time today (at work, when things slowed down a bit!) to read Aunt Deb's & Aunt Judy's blogs... I didn't know "Blogger" even existed until Aunt Deb said something about it awhile back. Anyways, I think their blogs are so cool & creative! .. and I think this would be another fun-filled & helpful way to keep in touch with friends and family, so... we'll try it out & see how it goes!! :)