christmas parade & christmas partay #1...

the month of december is just a busy time of the year for everyone...

for me...

there's christmas indoor and outdoor decorating,

there's christmas shopping to be done, parties to attend,

christmas cards to send out, shuffling the girls

to and from events and the list goes on

and when you add birthdays in that mix...

it's even busier!

in past years i didn't do a good job at blogging

our december madness 

but this year i'm gonna try to do a better job.

first up,

small town christmas parade!

both Michael and Meagan participated in the parade...

meagan sat in a truck representing

UA varsity cheerleaders...

michael representing UA in his red morph suit...

which he wears as a student section leader...

then last night was our girls office

christmas crafting dinner partay!

we were spoiled with cheese and chocolate fondue...

along with assorted simple beverages and wine...

the office crew minus wendy

who had a previous engagement....

rachael the one standing behind me
with the stripes on

was our hostess with the mostess...

craft time!

we really got into our crafting...

the craft project was a styrofoam ornament

wrapped around with ribbon...

in which we pinned sequins & beads

in any pattern we wanted...

and well...

we kinda ran out of pins...

so only half of our styrofoam balls were finished.
however, we each took a goodie bag home
filled with the sequins and other fun goodies that
we needed to finish our ornament.

my styrofoam ball half finished...

i still need to finish the other half...

so stay tuned for more december fun!

embrace the camera...

"photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving...

what you have captured on film is captured forever...

it remembers the little things...

long after you have forgotten everything."

aaron siskend

embracing the camera this week with my coworkers...

blessed to work with some 

awesomeness peeps and

we are a hard working bunch!

but in-between the madness and chaos

we manage to squeeze in

 some fun and silly times...

like joana wanting to lift me up...

pshaw! 

she's as light as a feather and she thinks she can

carry me? 

do you see the pain in her face as she tries?

and me and kelly

with blue apples stuck all over us...

and the office crew 

practicing our different yoga poses...

you see kylie back there?

the blonde behind the blonde?

she's totally concentrating 

and taking this waaaay too seriously ; ).

"we don't remember days; we remember moments"...

good times...

my first 10k...

before turning forty-ahem something...

cough...cough...

i have it on my bucket list to complete two 10k's...

(10k = 6.2 miles)

and i have been procrastinating for 8 months to run one...

so when my coworker and sweet friend told me about 

HIT THE BRIXX 10k...

i pondered...and pondered...

and did my best to get out and run to increase my distance before this race

and before signing up!

so last minute...like yesterday....

i registered and registered my other girlfriend with me...

shelly the mamma in the red she's the one that told me about the race...

and she's a marathoner...

she pretty much kick's butt!

then joana the girlfriend i registered with me...

the mamma in the middle...

well, she's been running about 6-7 miles

on pretty much a daily basis...

and then there's me...
who only averages 3-4 miles and

who continues to plug along...

 hoping that one day i will find this thing called running

a passion of mine and not a chore....

i'm not there yet...

can you see?

i'm struggling and really finding the strength i need within me...

to cross that finish line...

i had to keep reminding myself that...

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!"

Philippians 4:13

and He did!

one 10k crossed off my bucket list....

one more to go...

hoping to get it done...

and then maybe, just maybe...

a 1/2 marathon???

; ) wink..wink...

saturday snapshot...

linking up to saturday snapshot at yellow songbird.

love this link cause it gives me a chance to pour through

gazillions of photos that i take and it gives the photos

a chance to be seen.

anyhoo...

i never tire of charleston.

such a beautiful city in the south.

i literally have almost 700 pictures that i took whilst on 

our trip last spring.

glad i can link up today and share a few more pics.

yup, just a few...

wish i could share all 700! 

anyhoo, we are planning to take our annual charleston trip in may

and i sooooooo can't wait!

such a beautiful city with amazing food!

can't leave the food part out cause i am a big foodie and 

food is normally the focus whilst traveling...

that is for me anyways!

happy saturday friends!

just creating...

this is my beautiful & sweet coworker miss K.

i dubbed her as my blonde adopted daughter : )

anyhoo, she didn't like her boring little' ole camera case

so she asked if i could make her one with

a ruffle and a fabric flower...

using the coordinating fabric that i already had from my camera straps

 here's what i came up with.

she loved how it turned out, i loved how it turned out,

my girls loved how it turned out 

that i'ma about to make one for each of them!

humm...also thinking about making a few extras in one standard size

and putting them in the shop as well : ).

happy thursday friends!

an update from japan...

yesterday many bloggers from around the world participated in

for japan with love...

{bloggers day of silence}

this morning i received an an email from our very

close and dear friends who are

missionaries in japan that i wanted to share with all of you.

an update, some prayer requests and a few recommended sites

you can donate to.

read on friends...

Japan experienced a triple tragedy last week. A 9.0 earthquake, then a horrific tsunami, and now nuclear reactor meltdowns. Not to mention the ongoing aftershocks , the cold weather, power outages, the weakening dollar. 

The Tokyo Taylors are fine and we know you are praying for us. Tokyo was spared from much of the devastation but there is a new normal that is taking place. 

The Japanese are one of the most resistant people towards the gospel for Jesus Christ. Japan is one of the most difficult places to share the gospel. Pray that we will be able to respond to the needs most effectively, relevantly, and spiritually. Pray that out of this triple tragedy God will get all the glory and there will be a great spiritual harvest.

Yesterday was the 1 week anniversary of the earthquake. At 2:46pm, we all stopped and prayed at the CRASH command center. It was a powerful and emotional time. See photo below.

JBF MISSIONARIES

Ken is currently the field leader of JBF (Japan Baptist Fellowship). We have a total of 26 missionaries (15 children) from Canada, USA, Europe, and Philippines. All are well and accounted for. Pray specifically for the Flemings who live in an area where there is much devastation. Pray for each missionary and our response to our Japanese contacts and relationships who are surely in fear and searching for comfort. As field leader, pray that God will give Ken wisdom during this time.

CRASH COMMAND CENTER 

Our WorldVenture Japan mission-owned building (where Ken's office is) is now the temporary  Command   Center  for CRASH. Located in the West side of  Tokyo , Ken has been busy in the leadership team. Bola has been assisting in feeding many volunteers. CRASH has been setup for such a time like this. A Christian response to specifically be involved in the relief, rebuilding, and restoration during disasters. Here is the latest news.

CRASH is partnering with Samaritan's Purse to distribute 90 tons of relief supplies in Sendai.

SP (Samaritan's Purse) is flying the plane (a 747) into Yokota AFB from where it (the stuff in the plane) will be airlifted to Sendai Airport on Sunday. They need as many trucks and volunteers as possible from the Christian community to transport that material to our bases and their warehouse as possible.  Anything left will have to be turned over to the civil defense. We need to get as many trucks as possible to Sendai by Sunday!  

HALLELUJAH GOSPEL FAMILY

Many gospel choirs were suspended due to the earthquake, tsunami, and power outages. The Japanese are now gripped by fear and despair. But we are slowly starting up again as we know that the songs they will learn and sing brings hope in Jesus Christ.  Pray that this will stir hearts to the Lord who has been patiently calling out to them for so many many years.  Pray for our choirs that the Truths that they have been singing through the years will be their personal comfort in these difficult times.

SAFETY & CONCERNS

I know many of you are concerned about our safety. We want to assure you that our mission has an evacuation policy and contingency plan in place. And although the Fukushima nuclear power plant situation is still unstable, our assessment at this time is that all our missionary units are at a relatively safe distance from the reactor.

As our colleague (Kevin Laverman) wrote in his update

We wait anxiously for a resolution to the growing nuclear problem in Fukushima. As foreigners leave in droves from Japan, we wonder what God has for us here. Part of us says to evacuate or flee south, too. But our church and Japanese need the hope God brings now more than ever. We have no intention of being foolishly heroic. We are watching the situation carefully and putting together contingency plans. But we feel safe in His care, covered by His wings both night and day. And there's so much opportunity and work to be done now! 

DONATION

We recommend the following for donations.

1. WorldVenture - Japan Earthquake - for WorldVenture Japan related churches. 

2. CRASH - for Christian based relief efforts to Japanese churches

3. Taylor Support (we do need to stay here!)

Go here for One-Time Gift  

Go here for Support Commitment

4. HGF (our primary ministry in reaching the Japanese with the gospel music)

Go here for Special Projects: Go to Enter AMOUNT & SELECT specific SPECIAL PROJECT by scrolling down to:

JAPAN: Hallelujah Gospel Family

In His Hands,

Ken & Bola Taylor

Joining Hearts in Bringing Jesus to Japan

Evangelism, Equipping, Encouraging, Exploring Ministries

our dear friends...the tokyo taylors

let's continue to lift japan up in prayer.

weekend in the city...

Spent Saturday with the bff's minus mama bear Gladys and normally when any of us get together food is the focus and San Francisco being the foodie city that it is well there's just never enough meals to fit it all in. We had dim sum and Vietnamese. We also wanted an authentic Mexican burrito from the Mission District, Filipino sisig tacos and piroshki's but like I said we just didn't have enough meals for this quick trip. Oh, well hopefully there will be a next time.

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