Cross illustrating all of our sins covered by Christ's blood

The story behind this cross. A couple months ago as part of a message series at Forest Pointe Church, Ray challenged us to take a paint stick and write down whatever holds us back or that we think is that one thing that is just too bad for God to erase in our lives. After writing this on our stick we came up and dipped it in red paint and tossed it on a drop cloth as an act of letting Christ cover our sin with His blood. Someone came up to Ray after the service and asked what he planned to do with the 400 or 500 paint sticks and Ray said he had no plans for them. This man asked to be able to make a cross out of them and this is the result.   What sin do you have in your past that you think are too big for Jesus?  There are no sins too big for our God!

Christmas Camryn-17 months old

I could just eat this little one up, couldn't you?  All dressed in her Christmas attire for her morning at Forest Pointe Church.  Couldn't resist sharing these photos with all of my family and friends!

In Memory of Marjorie Adell Smith-AKA-My Mom

Today I have been out of sorts despite the plan for a very relaxing Christmas Eve Day before I head back to work tomorrow.  It was as if I had PMS after "the monthly event".  Very strange feelings today.  And it is not as if I don't remember what this day represents to my family but I guess it was just not at the front of my mind.

Then the mail arrived and I received some beautiful Christmas cards from friends and family across the US.  Later today the door bell rang.....when I finally got the dogs calmed down and made it to the door the UPS man was already gone and there in my mailbox sat a small package.

I opened the package that my God Mother sent to me.  She often blesses me with kitchen towels or note pads alway thoughtfully picked out just for me.  So as I opened the package I was expecting a similar gift to years past.  Instead there sat this plaque that looked vaguely familiar to me.  Inside there was this handwritten note in my Aunt Jane's beautiful script stating that she decided to re-gift this to me.  She shared in the note that many years ago (guessing in the 1970's) mom had lovingly made this for her and now she felt that I may want to have it.

At this moment, I realized why I have been out of sorts all day long.....19 years ago today my mom died of lung cancer on Christmas Eve.   That is why I feel the way I do today and hadn't figured it out until this package arrived.  What a thoughtful gift for me to receive today and I thank you Aunt Jane for thinking of it.

Mom was such an example of faith to me those first 20 years of my life.  She showed love to everyone in her path and you see "God is Love".  So in this and many other ways she showed Christianity to me through action as we should all be showing to those around us.  They don't want to hear our words, but instead desire to see us exemplify Christ.

Merry Christmas to all of my family and friends.

Stacey

Jessica's Baptism

Recently I found myself telling one of my friends that I didn't have anything new to share on my blog in response to her saying that I had not updated it recently. I was very wrong!

In October I had the honor of being present when my first small group member, Jessica Norman, was baptized at Forest Pointe. Little did she know that I would secretly invite all of our group!

Jessica has been such an example to me of the reason we have small groups at FPC. When Jessica started attending our group her marriage was struggling, new to FPC (driving nearly an hour from Hickory each weekend!), and not connected at FPC. Now her marriage is much stronger and she is expecting her first baby in April. After our group volunteered one Sunday she became a weekly leader in our Kidzpointe area. This semester I asked if she would consider helping me lead our group some weeks and she took that on as she nicely told me that I had "a way of pushing her out of her comfort zone". Then this fall she told me she was scheduled to be baptized by submersion at the largest baptismal in Gaston County (the YMCA Pool!) This brought tears to my eyes because you see this is like a wedding ring, it shows publicly that you have chosen to accept Christ and plan to follow Him. This day was a special day for Jessica but also for her leader as well. I couldn't think of a better time than Christmas to share this story because you see the gift of Christ is a free one for us to accept, but that cost our God tremendously.

Merry Christmas Card

This is the card I designed using the CPS 145 sketch which you can find here: http://cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/

This is my first time using one of these sketches and I think I am hooked! This is also the first time I have posted one of my cards on my blog but think I will continue to do so......

Paper: Basic Grey and Bazzill

Stamp: Hero Arts

Ornament: Cricut

Extras: Stickles, Basic Grey Brad

Facebook.....a place for connection but also a place to be an example to others

I think we can all agree that through Facebook we have been able to reconnect with many friends from our past. I think we would also agree that Facebook has been a great way to keep up with friends' and family members' daily lives and enjoy many pictures!

What I would like us to now ponder is the example we leave in print on Facebook daily......

A couple of comments have been made to me recently that have caused me to pause and ponder the power of Facebook. I was visiting with a friend over lunch in Maryland 2 weeks who I have not seen in over 16 years and she asked early on in our visit about "my story". Well, me being a bit slow started telling her about how Mark and I met and a little about our lives. Later on when Mark had gone to sit off to the side to give us time alone she asked me again, "so tell me your story" only this time she added this statement:

"Stacey when I first found you on Facebook I was of course thrilled to get back in touch. As I read more and more on your page and looked over your photos and interests I kept saying to myself, 'this is not the same Stacey that I went to college with; something is much different." And she repeated, "so tell me your story" and this time I got what she was asking! Now let me preface this by saying, I was not a wild child in college but I made some wrong choices and let's just say tested the waters of being away from home a little too often. So at this point in our lunch I proceeded to share my story of become a Christian with my friend because after all this is what she had been asking about the entire visit.

The other comment I had recently was from my husband and he was commenting on one of our friend's Facebook pages who we attend Forest Pointe with. He commented one evening to me, she must really be unhappy at her job all she says in her posts every day is how glad she will be when her day is over, 3 days over, how frustrating her job is. That made be think of another friend who is always putting in her status how the people she deals with at work are frustrating her, "work ugggg", etc. Now I don't think either of these friends meant to come across as being unhappy with employment but as just a way of commenting through their daily lives.

Now I know I tend to be a little over the top with my optimism and joyfulness but this has really made me think about how we come across to others on Facebook and other public arenas so readily available on the world wide web these days. It also made me realize after talking with my friend over lunch that day that we could be reaching others for Christ on Facebook and that WOW'd me! I want to be that example that says, "hey this girl is different than the world" and makes others want to know why that is because I love my God and want everyone to know that! Have a blessed day!

Mimi again!

Mark's other daughter, Cristina had our second grandchild on Wednesday! Tony Nicolas Renzoni arrived 4 weeks early weighing in at 3 lbs 15 0z, 17 inches long. He is breathing completely on his own and is doing well. Crissy is doing well despite some pains from the C -section. We are now the proud grandparents of both Camryn and Tony! Excited to return from Maryland to meet the very little guy! Please pray for Crissy and Tony as Crissy heals and Tony grows!

Urgent Prayer Request for Malcolm

August 4, 2009

I received the following email this week from my step nephew’s mom, Julie with unexpected concerns on his MRI and Bone Scan following his chemo regimen. Please be in urgent prayer to our faithful God for Malcolm as he returns to the hospital for Pet Scan on Monday. Here is Julie’s email:

Hi Guys,

Malcolm’s scans came back, and they are not clean, there are two new areas of concern that had not been detected in previous scans. His tail bone was glowing in the bone scan, and the top of his femur and area around it turned up on the MRI. These are both areas that were within the region of the massive tumor he had. Orthopaedics thinks the top of the femur could just be necrosis, but onco is fearful it is cancer. The tail bone could be something in how he now postures and moves himself. Oncology is concerned because if it is the Ewing’s, it means it was able to grow despite the chemo, and they would have nothing in their arsenal to combat it. He had not had a scan since they stopped giving him the Doxorubicin four rounds ago, (the most toxic of the chemos—they had to stop because he had reached his life-time cap on the allowable limit to administer). We certainly pray that whatever they are finding on the scans is not cancer.

They have scheduled a PET scan for Monday to see if they can determine what kind of material they are looking at. If the scan is inconclusive, then they will biopsy those areas.

Please pass this information along to your prayer groups so they may pray for benign results.

Thank you!

Julie

Another updated email from Julie today:

Thank you for forwarding the feedback emails!

Please pass along to all prayer groups that the femur is clear—just necrosis. It is the tailbone that is a concern. There are two areas in the tail bone that light up on the CT and PET scans, and they cannot tell for certain what they are seeing yet. They are quite concerned.

So please have people pray that the tailbone is clear as Malcolm is a very intelligent and motivated young man, who can do a lot of good here on earth when he grows up!

Thanks so much,

Love , julie

Moving back to blogger!

Well, after moving my blog over to my Mac IWeb site a little under a year ago, I am now returning to blogger. I love the graphics and flexibility associated with my Mac IWeb site but have heard some say that they are unable to open much of my site and I want anyone interested in my day to day chatter to be able to reach my site. Plus, I am going to rely completely on my Mac photo gallery to keep pictures up to date instead of having them in two locations to simplify life a bit. So with all of that said.......I'm bacccckkkkkkkk! Over the next few days I will be updating my blogger site and carrying some of my favorite blog entries over from I Web site. Parden the dust as this site undergoes a bit of reconstruction! Have a blessed day! Stacey

The Root of My Positive Attitude

Many listen to me talk as I turn everything into a positive no matter how dire the situation and get aggravated. Some get irritated. And then others just wonder how one person can be so stinkin’ positive all of the time. You are about to discover the answer..........

Many of you know that I have had multiple abdominal surgeries due to a hereditary disease called Familial Polyposis. When I was 12 years old I was in New York University Hospital recovering from my first major surgery to remove half of my colon when I was introduced to my roommate, Lisa next to me. Now let me tell you, before the surgery and right after I don’t think that my attitude was all that great. I was in the why me stage and also very scared. Spending time with Lisa changed my attitude for the rest of my life. Lisa was 12 also and was dying from cancer. So here next to me was someone my very own age who was dying......suddenly my situation did not seem all that grim. I learned from that point on that there is always someone worse off than me and that I should be thankful for my situation no matter how hard. Through the difficult times in my life I have grown stronger and learned to rely on God more.

Another influence on my attitude was my mom. My mom and I were like best friends (except during those rough late teenage years!). We shared a lot together, including our hereditary disease, our many doctors appointments, our many tests, and surgeries. When mom would go into the hospital would often go a different way than expected, one time almost cost her her life when she spent 9 weeks in the hospital. Mom had many surgeries, treatments but always no matter how bad she felt had the most amazing attitude. Mom was always thinking of others despite what she was facing. Mom “graduated” way to early in 1990 but her legacy of her positive attitude that she modeled for me will always live on.

So when you think you are having a bad moment, day, week, or life.....I challenge you to look around outside of your world and see what others are struggling with......it can be an eye opening experience.

Have a blessed day!

BLOG HAS MOVED>>>>>>>

Hello Friends and Family!

In case you have not rec'd the email with my new blog address announcement........I have moved my blog and picture gallery to my mac website so I can have everything in one place.......check back frequently at new mac site as I am updating frequently!  The link is:

http://web.me.com/staceyvincent/Site/Welcome.html

Enjoy and have a blessed day!

Stacey and Mark

Camping trip at 4 Paws!

Yes I have been remiss in keeping up with my blog since returning from Scotland!  I hope to remedy that this week with some updates.  For now I will share that we are camping at 4 Paws Kingdom in Rutherfordton this week.  Mark will be here only on the weekends and the "kids" and I will stay all week.  This is our longest camping trip to date and I am thrilled!  This was the best location for us to stay alone b/c there are several large off leash areas for the dogs to run with their friends and we have gotten to know the owners over our 3 years of camping here.  

Our first day here they had a "Weiner Bobbing" contest-entered Cody-flunked miserably!  All he wanted to do is drink the water around the hot dog pieces!  He still is a winner in our eyes!  We felt it best to not enter Ashley due to her mild food aggression but boy she would have taken home the trophy!  Anyone who has camped with us would agree as she has been known to put her entire head under water to retrieve a rock!  Both Cody and Ashley did well in the big dog off leash area yesterday afternoon and Ashley didn't show any "fence aggression" as she has in the past but did get a little "irritable" when too many dogs got in the park and she was getting tired.  Time to cook up some brunch!  More later........also note to the right of this blog entry the updated picture of 9 week old Camryn!

I am a GRANDMA!

Heather and JR had beautiful Camryn Elizabeth Demby last Sunday, August 3rd while I was preparing to return home from Scotland! I will be meeting her for the first time tomorrow afternoon and can't wait! When Mark picked me up in the airport he had on the seat awaiting me a stack of pictures of Camryn! My favorite so far is the one I have attached to thi! Isn't she beautiful! It is crazy I haven't even seen her in person yet and already I am thinking of all the memories we will have with her as she grows up. I especially can't wait to take her camping with us in a few years!

Scotland Mission Trip

Well I am rested and have survived returning to work after being gone for 2 weeks. So now is a great time to post a little more about our Scotland trip. On the last update we were finishing up painting and preparing for the Gala Fair in the park. The Fair was amazing! I think we gave out more than a 100 hot dogs and 150 sodas! It was a long and busy day but well worth it. We were able to be relaxed and spend time with the people in the community that we had become very attached to. I felt like my heart was being ripped out having to start saying good bye to these beautiful people. I was speaking to a couple from Centre Pointe that day about having trouble leaving and Kent said that unless you felt like your heart was being torn out of your chest when you left you had not done what you set out to do on a mission trip. Wow! I didn't think it would be that hard to say good bye. Many planned to attend church the next day but as I often see in the US people don't actually come so I was saying good bye in case I did not see them in the am. Little did I know that most of them would be attending the next day-more on that later.....
We rec'd cards from the children and one from one of the parents as well, Yvonne. I can't wait to share pictures from that amazing day!

Later Saturday evening after we had time to rest a while we had our mission team banquet at an authentic Spanish restaurant. Not too bad! I was concerned b/c as most of you know....I am a very picky eater! We ate family style so there were lots of dishes to chose from and you all would be proud, I tried everything and even enjoyed Calamari for the first time! It was a good relaxed evening where we all shared from our week and shared more with one another about our lives as we prepared to part ways.

area came to church! Now most of these adults/children have never entered a church. They came in for the worship music at the beginning of service and then we all viewed a video from our week in the park. After that Miss Dixie led the children in two songs that she had worked with them on. For the second part of the service Centre Sunday morning was hectic and awesome all at once! At least 14 people from the Cable's WyndPointe had a special kids program in place and many of the parents went to it as well. I was disappointed to see 4 of the moms head out to smoke soon after the program started but I had to realize that it is going to take time for them to be comfortable there. Some of the kids were a handful but the mission team helped to keep them from being too disruptive. After church Centre Pointe reserved Pizza Hut so we had lunch with everyone and then said tearful good byes again! Many of the people from Cable's Wynd plan to return this Sunday so please continue to pray for them! I see in the eyes of these people changes taking place and I am so thankful for that! As I get pictures uploaded I plan to pull out a few special ones dear to my heart and tell you their stories. Centre Pointe plans to continue working in the Cable's Wynd community on several levels so continue to pray please!

Sunday afternoon we had free to do as we pleased. 4 of us decided to hike to the top of Calton Hill and the view was amazing! We spent the rest of the day walking around the city and packing for our trip home the next day.

This mission trip has had a profound effect on my life. I learned that I could do things I would never have thought I could do! I worked harder than I have ever worked and loved it! I grew much closer to Jesus as I saw Him working things out in that park right before my eyes! I would challenge anyone who has not been on a mission trip to "just do it!" Don't be afraid! Great things will happen in your life and in other peoples lives if you will just step out of your comfort zone. I am so thankful that I did!

Home from Scotland!

We arrived safely in Charlotte last night at 7 pm. It is good to be home but I am already missing those I met in Scotland. When I am less jet lagged I will be posting several posts about the trip and many pictures! For now please check out the video that has been put on You Tube showing the City Outreach we were a part of in Edinburgh. I can't watch it without tearing up. Thank you for all the prayers you have been saying. Please continue to pray for the Cables Wynd community and for Centre Pointe Church as they continue to reach out to them.

Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PP1bzoJeaU

Hike to the top of Arthur's Seat!

Last night we got rained out from painting at the park so we decided as a group to hike up to Arthur's Seat to see the best view of the city! 4 of us hiked approximately 4 foot ball fields straight up to the very top of Arthur's Seat! The first picture shows you the point that we climbed up to-actually went up to the cement seat you see! The second picture is the view from about halfway up the climb to give you an idea of how far we hiked!

Also, did I mention that it was raining? Not a heavy rain but steady. The top area is quite rocky and slippery. This was beyond anything else that I have ever done! Unbelievable view! I wish it had been a clearer night but we have limited opportunity now for sight seeing with our schedule being tighter trying to get the park completed.

Today it rained during the early morning so we were able to do a little shopping before heading to the park at noon. We have gotten the first layer of color paint on most of the playground equipment.

Please pray for our Fair tomorrow in Cable's Wind at the park. Pray for great weather and changing hearts. Many of the residents are excited about attending our church service on Sunday! This is such an amazing experience!

On a side note......I should be a grand mother sometime today so please be in prayer for Mark's daughter, Heather as they continue to induce labor!

Thursday Scotland Update

Today has been amazing at the park! This morning in our mission meeting Perry shared with us that he was struggling with not allowing the children to paint their park due to safety issues. He shared scripture from Mark 9:33-37 and Mark 10:13-16 and his thoughts on how important receiving children is to Him. He felt led to have us each partner with a child to allow them to paint their own park so that they will take ownership in this park and protect it. Wow! This was powerful! We not only got a ton of painting done this afternoon but relationships were built between children/teenagers and the mission team and lives are being changed. Please pray for the 2 children that are partnered with me, Patty Sue and Charlene. Patty Sue is a beautiful blonde/red haired 6 year old who came to Christ with Miss Dixie this week and is quick to tell others that she has heard about Jesus. Charlene is a beautiful 10 year old girl who has never heard about God or Jesus and heard the story today and is thinking about what she has heard. My prayer is that she will start to ask questions as we paint together. Several teenagers that have been very harsh since we started in the park are having very honest conversations with Perry who was right at their age when he first learned about Christ. This community is catching on to what we are doing and asking questions. We have had amazing weather for the Scotland area with very little rain and great sunny, warm days. We pray that this weather pattern continues b/c we are down to the last 24 hours of painting. We have gala celebration day planned for all day Saturday where we will have bouncy thing, hot dogs, face painting, etc.

We also decided on the spot this morning in mission team meeting to have a huge celebration at the church Sunday centered around this community that we are working with . We will be going in vans to pick them up and they will be with us during worship music time, then we will show slide show of pictures from our week at the park, and then the children from the park will be singing 2 songs being led by Miss Dixie. The church has a special program planned and then we are providing pizza hut lunch for everyone afterwards. This is going to be huge! Please pray!

Scotland Update

We have stepped up our work hours at the park area so that we are sure to have it finished in time for the Gala Fair on Saturday. So we are working 1-4pm and 6:30-9pm each evening through Friday. Pray that God will sustain our team and the others from the local church that we are working with. We are a bit exhausted today from the increase in hours in the park. We are continuing to see people accept Christ and others asking questions and seeking information. We will start painting tonight. Please pray for the community we are serving and pray for the softening of their hearts. The children have been very open to us and to hearing about God. There are a couple older troubled boys that have a lot of anger issues that we are dealing with. There is such a need for Christ over here. It is a beautiful city with so many lost people. You can just see it in there faces as you pass them on the streets.

I enjoy in the mornings getting up early enough to have quiet time and then doing some sightseeing on foot around the city. I take a different route each morning so I can see different areas of the city. This is a very safe city despite the heavy drinking/bar population. I can't wait to share the many pictures that I have taken while here!

Time to get ready for dinner!

Scotland Mission Trip Update

We are settling into a daily routine now. We have mission meetings in the morning and late afternoons to recap the previous days work and plan for the days outreach. We spend time in prayer as a group in the am meeting thanking him for the opportunities and asking him to lead us in His direction that day. We work at the community park at Cable Wynd every evening with the local tenants and children. We have been amazed by how quickly the area residents joined in with us to help. Many of the residents come out each time to help. Miss Dixie has led several people to Christ and has been the story teller for the children. She has such a gift! We have been able to clean up much of the park and God has protected it at night so our work has not been destroyed. We are almost ready to paint the playground equipment and have made headway with the overgrown hedges. We have seen many scenic sites in the midst of the days and this has provided us the opportunity to be among the locals and have an impact on them as well.

I will leave you today with a humorous story.....last night while one of the girls in our flat was showering I turned on the oven to warm a bagel and proceeded to blow a breaker because the water is on an electrical system. Stephanie who was in the shower was left soaking wet with shampoo in her hair in a dark flat! Thankfully, she was able to finish her shower in the guys' flat and the guys were able to reset the breaker in a timely manner!

Many blessings! Please continue to pray for our team, the work we are doing and now specifically for the protection of the park.

Scotland- The first 48 hours!

We arrived safe but exhausted in Edinburgh, Scotland on Saturday morning at 10am (5am NC time). Our first day they put us into a tour van and took us to Linlithgow Palace for the day to keep us awake. This area outside of Edinburgh is extremely relaxed and calm. We sat out by the "Loch" (lake) and ate lunch together. That evening we met for a mission team meeting and learned about the Scotland customs and about our mission project. We will be working in a dilapidated park near a government housing development mainly populated by single moms and their children. No one will take ownership for the upkeep of this park and is in such disrepair. We walked the park area before dinner on Saturday and many of us prayed as we walked to prepare for the project. These children were out on this sunny afternoon running and playing and laughing in this sad park. Many were bare foot and there was trash and glass everywhere.

I can't wait to share more later, but others are waiting to use this computer so I will close for now and pick up next available time!

Love to you all and thank you for all of the prayers. Know that they are all felt. Excuse the typos as I am exhausted tonight!

We're having a baby!!!

Well, not exactly.....Mark's daughter, Heather, is having her first child. Sorry for the excitement/scare I caused! Unfortunately, they are planning on inducing her while I am in Scotland. So my first sight of my first grandchild will be over the internet. Thankfully, our son-in-law (the soon to be new daddy!) is very much a techy, so he has promised me some amazing first pictures! I didn't expect to be so excited about this baby but I am thrilled! It really sunk in when we went to visit Heather and JR a couple of weeks ago and saw the nursery and talked to Heather at length about her pregnancy. I can't wait! Enjoy this picture of Mark and Heather taken at our visit to there house a couple of weeks ago.

Edinburgh, Scotland Mission Trip

This Friday I will be flying to Edinburgh, Scotland with 5 others from our church for my first overseas mission trip. Actually, it is my first out of state mission trip! We will be partnering with other churches to work on outreaches with a church that we support in Edinburgh. You can learn more about the church we will be working with at: http://www.centrepointchurch.org/
Scotland is very different from other areas where missionaries visit. Scotland is a post Christian country, meaning they know about God but chose to turn away. Many we will have contact with will have very hardened hearts. We will be involved in community outreaches in downtown Edinburgh sharing information about Centre Point Church and about the Christian faith. Many have been asking this week if I am nervous or afraid and honestly now that it is time to leave, I am excited and know that God will watch over us, protect us and lead us to touch many lives. I often feel inadequate for the work we will be doing over there but then I remember one of my favorite passages:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Please be in prayer for our group who is going, for our safe travel, the families we are leaving behind for 10 days, the other churches who are joining us there, and those who we will be in contact with while we are there.

I hope to update our blog while over there so keep an eye out for updates.

Dog Days

I was never a dog person growing up. I was bitten as a child so that gave me reason enough to fear dogs well into adulthood. Then about 9 years ago I accepted a position at Gaston Hospice as a home nurse. I have never worked somewhere where dogs are a regular part of your week as they are at Gaston Hospice. Of course being in home care for the first time there were dogs everywhere I went and I started to warm up to being around dogs and let down my guard a little......still held a strong respect for dogs though and kept my distance when I felt they were not too happy that I was in their home. I learned to not show my fear even if I was scared to death b/c dogs can read your fear and act on it. Then I started to notice that co workers brought their dogs to work occasionally and I started to spend time around dogs in the office as part of the day. One day I came to the realization that I actually had become fond of dogs. Next thing I knew about 4 years ago we adopted "Princess Ashley" from one of our friends' son and daughter in law. Then a couple years later we purchased Cody Boy from a breeder and our lives have never been so complete. Coming home to these two adorable dogs with their tails wagging as they run to you can brighten any day no matter how difficult!

The Birth of our BLOG!

Who would have ever thought that I would have enough to say to warrant starting a blog???? Well most anyone who knows me would assure you that I am never short on words! With that said, Mark and I thought this would be a fun way for family and friends and maybe a few people who just happen upon our blog to keep up with all of the adventures that we enjoy! You will be taken from the local drag strips with Mark, to camping adventures in the NC mountains and even to Edinburgh, Scotland with Stacey. We will share pictures and stories with you and look forward to having you leave comments so that we know you stopped by! This picture of Mark and I was taken last July when we took a camping trip by ourselves to Hickory Nut Falls Family Campground in Chimney Rock. We took a day and went hiking to the top of Hickory Nut Falls.