Pelicans are the new deer!

The LORD had said to Abram,

"Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;

I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

So Abram left, as the LORD had told him.

Genesis 12:1-4

It's been a looong time, not because the Lord hasn't been working, He has! It's been amazing just witnessing Him working in our lives since I last emailed!

A brief update:

The wedding date is May 31, that's very soon! You can visit our wedding webpage if you want to, www.mywedding.com/chrisandannakathryn, things are just coming together perfectly, and I'm having so much fun planning our hot pink and orange wedding! Haha, you wouldn't expect anything less from me would you?

So... as the wedding date draws nearer, so does the ending of our jobs at Eagle Ranch! This is very sad, as we both love our jobs and the kids we work with SO much. It's been bittersweet for all of us! We're so excited to get married and start our new adventure together, but we're so sad to leave. The kids are so excited for us, as they daily remind me to change the countdown on the board in my classroom, but they're sad for us to leave also. The relationships are deep, one kid in my prayer group who lives in the home where Chris works asks me often, "Why are you taking Chris away from us?" while two others beg me to stay and keep helping them with science. Another one prays for us, and offers wholehearted support, as he knows his season at the ranch is soon ending as well. He'll miss us, he says, but we're all moving on... we'll be in touch, I know we will.... I'm fighting tears regularly over the thought of saying goodbye to these precious kids and the people I work with. This has been an amazing adventure...

...but a new adventure awaits!

Life after May 31 consists of a week in Mexico, and after that it's been a total mystery! For months, we've been looking and applying for jobs......... nothing........... The Lord kept reminding us "Be patient! I'm still here. I won't let you down!" But He continued to allow our futures to be a mystery. Here we are, a little more than a month from the wedding.... and the Lord has proven Himself trustworthy (duh!) and blessed us beyond comprehension! The Lord has taught Chris and I so much about trusting Him through A LOT of patience, and at the pit of our discouragement, through much prayer and daily renewed faith, we have learned the lesson and seen God! He has diminished doubt and worry from our hearts!! Things seem to be coming together in an amazing way, and it's clear we're at the forefront of a bigger adventure than we ever thought!

We all know I love adventures, I've jumped out of many airplanes in the last few years, but now we're being asked to blindly jump into something big, and it's going to be so exciting to trust God and go on a new adventure as a new family. We'll be asked to leave our families and go into the land He shows us... I fully believe that where we're led, He will honor our faithfulness and be with us every step.

I heard a sermon recently on this time in Abraham's life. Abraham took a huge step of faith when He left his home to follow God. He didn't know where he was going or how things would turn out, but He trusted God and went, and God blessed Abraham and those around him in a huge way! Chris and I are praying for the strength and trust that Abraham had as we leave our homes and go where He leads us. We pray that He uses us in the lives of those around us and that He blesses us through the people He places in our lives. We are so excited to start this adventure together and are constantly on the edge of our seat waiting to find out what will happen next!

The state seal of Louisiana features a pelican tearing away her own flesh to feed the three chicks surrounding her in the nest. Apparently pelicans actually do this in order to keep their young from starving. I'm reminded of how much Jesus loves us, so much so that He sacrificed Himself in order to keep us from suffering. He provides amply for us as we put our lives in His hands to keep us, His children, from starving.

God has been very good to Chris and me, and I know I'll be daily reminded of His blessings as we relocate to Mandeville, Louisiana on June 10th and watch the pelicans fly overhead. Chris has been offered a job as Director of Youth at New Covenent Presbyterian Church and He has accepted. This is a great opportunity, and we are so very excited! Please pray as I look for work. We were in Louisiana for a visit last weekend and I had an interview on Friday with a private Christian school. Hopefully we will hear back soon, but while we wait we could definitely use your prayers! We have a place to live, lots of room for Chris's dog, Joe, and a lot of wonderful people who already have welcomed us into their families!

So, last Thursday, as we crossed the 24 mile bridge over Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans to Mandeville, I found myself as enamored with the pelicans as I am with the deer I see in Georgia. I knew I wouldn't miss the deer too much as I have a new animal to watch for now!

Thanks for your support and the way you've prayed for me over the years! I apologize for being so absent, I hope to keep you all more updated after all this wedding and moving business is over with! Keep praying, the Lord hears all your prayers, and I'll continue to thank Him everytime I think of you!!

His,

Anna Kathryn

"I thank my God everytime I remember you!

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy!"

Philippians 1:3&4

big news!!

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!!"

2 Corinthians 9:15

Friends and faithful prayer warriors,

You've seen me through a lot of trials and hard times over the past several years, now I want to ask you rejoice with me as I begin a new journey! I was reminded of myself recently as I was reading through Song of Solomon and came across this passage:

All night long I looked for the one my heart loves;

I looked for him but did not find him.

I will get up now and go about the city,
through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
So I looked for him but did not find him.

The watchmen found me
as they made their rounds in the city.
"Have you seen the one my heart loves?"

Song of Solomon 3:1-3

For my whole life I wondered around searching for the one my heart would love forever. About a year and a couple months ago I found contentment as I rested in the comfort that Jesus Christ was and is the one my heart loves, and that He would sustain me through all things. There never would be and never will be anyone else who will love me and pursue me the way He always has. The discovery that His love was enough for me astounded me and changed me; I no longer looked for "the one" everyday everywhere, I already had "the one!" I no longer felt lonely or unwanted, because I was never alone, and I was certainly never unwanted! I was finally able to truly be myself!!

Scarcely had I passed them
when I found the one my heart loves.
I held him and would not let him go.

Song of Solomon 3:4

No more than a month or two later, the Lord gave me a gift; He introduced me to an amazing and Godly man named Chris Ellzey who, unbeknownst to me, was the earthly "one" that God set apart for me to meet whenever my heart was ready. At first, I thought I was being tested, but the closer and closer Chris and I got, the more and more I learned from him, and I came to this great awareness that the Lord brought the two of us together.

This past November 4, the Lord gave me another gift, and so did Chris, as he asked me to be his wife, and put a beautiful ring on my finger!! I couldn't be more excited or grateful for this amazing and indescribable gift from God!! I couldn't wait to share my great joy with all of you, and thank you so much for being part of my journey through this life that has brought me where I am today!!

Please continue to pray for us as our seperate journeys join as one this May! We're very excited to find out where the Lord will lead our future! Pray that our eyes and ears will be wide open as He guides us along the way!! We know He holds our future together in the palm of His hand, please pray that we continue to trust Him with unfailing patience as He makes His path clear to us! Y'all are so amazingly wonderful, and I thank you so much for praying for me over the years!! This is gonna be fun! I'm sure there are lots more lessons to be learned in the coming years!!

I love y'all!!

His,

Anna Kathryn

"I thank my God everytime I remember you!

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy!"

-Philippians 1:3

it works!

I got to the hospital at 3:00 yesterday, about 5 minutes after our girl's left lung collapsed... things were looking really bad.... REALLY bad.... she had been doing great, her temperature was back to normal, and they had taken her off the ventilator, but all of the sudden, everything went down hill fast.... Her temp spiked again and she was back on the vent... I went in to see her while she was sleeping and it was a scary thing... I held her hand and it felt so lifeless in mine, I just prayed and prayed for peace in her heart with whatever would happen....

There were several staff members from the Ranch at the hospital, her house dad being one of them... He got a call that one of his other girls gave their house mom this passage, she said God gave it to her:

'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz , and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel . You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem . Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'

2 Chronicles 20:15-17

We all went in when she finally woke and laid hands on her and prayed over her bed that God would give her, her family and all of us the strength to give the battle to Him, to stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord would give her... Yesterday, we didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but I am telling y'all, talking to God is an amazing thing, He really does hear us! That girl is so amazing, she's breathing on her own today, talking up a storm, smiling... The comfort I felt just seeing her beautiful smile today was amazing, and I truly thank God and all of her prayer warriors for that! That includes each of y'all, you're awesome! She knows she's not out of the woods yet and asked today for continued prayer, but in her written words yesterday when things were looking really down, she told us she's accepted Jesus into her heart, so she knows she'll be ok one way or the other... I appreciate y'all! Don't ever doubt the power and effectiveness of your prayers, He hears every one of them! Please keep praying, there's one more surgery on Thursday, and after that they're hoping to have her home in about a week but there are definitely still opportunities for things to go downhill again, I told her today that every second of the day there are people praying for her, so let's keep that up!

I love y'all a lot!

His,

Anna Kathryn

"I thank my God everytime I remember you!

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy!"

Philippians 1:3&4

keep praying!!

Our girl took a turn for the worse last night... Surgery went really well, she was in for 3 1/2 hours yesterday morning.... Somehow contracted an infection and was taken to ICU last night with 105.5 degree temp... I know she's made some really positive choices for herself during this time... Please pray that she keeps doing that and that the Lord heals her; I know He can, but I don't know if He's going to, and I'm not gonna lie, that scares me and I'm so worried about her... Before I knew any of this yesterday, I wrote her a letter yesterday about healing, I hope when I take it to her today that she understands there are two kinds of healing, earthly and eternal... I hope I understand that too...

Thanks for your prayers, we really appreciate them!

His,

Anna Kathryn

prayer need!

Read this please:

http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20070831/localnews/193902.shtml

The female passenger in the Ford Focus was one of our students... I can't give names because of confidentiality, but please please please be in prayer for her! She had one surgery (on her lower intestine) right after the wreck. She has a 4-way fracture on L-2 (lower spine) and has her first surgery for that tomorrow at 7:30 am and the second on Monday. I haven't gotten to go see her yet because I'm sick, but I'm dying to get out to the hospital, I'm so worried about her, and I fear for these kids to leave this place now... This girl is a true testament to why we do what we do here, she has done so much in her life since she came here last year! My biggest prayer is that she understands that she was saved for a reason, and that she continues to make positive and life-changing decisions. Please join me in praying for her, especially tomorrow as she undergoes her second of three surgeries since the accident last week.

I thank God so much that these kids have such faithful prayer warriors in each of you!

I love y'all! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

His,

Anna Kathryn

"I thank my God everytime I remember you!

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy!"

Philippians 1:3&4

new tires come with warranties!!

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 4:22-24

What an amazing summer I've had! This was the first summer since I was in middle school that I haven't worked, and you better believe I took full advantage of it! Just about every minute of it was filled, whether I was traveling or making jewelry for the business! My time in Tennessee was outstanding, Kiawah Island was beautiful, and our visit with family in New Jeresy couldn't have been better! Through it all, I knew there was a big lesson coming, I know the Lord never fails at that! This one, I've actually been expecting and searching for since April, so I'm excited to write about it! And it just happens to come at the perfect time: the beginning of a new school year!!! Doesn't the Lord have such perfect timing!

For those of you who have been privy to my life's journey since last April, you'll be excited to hear, the tires are doing well!! Haha, won't last long probably, the tire guy said, "With your luck, you may wanna invest in some kind of road hazard insurance..." It's a good thing I don't believe in luck! However, since I do believe in the Lord using 5 totally destroyed tires in 3 months to teach me something important, I may want to invest in that anyways!

Did you know that the original tires that come on new cars have no warranty from the tire company? That's craziness! I just learned that last week, as I purchased my 5th tire since April... Well, I guess that's ok because the warranty wouldn't have covered the curb and brick run-ins anyways... My car seems to have an attraction to those type things, it just steers its way right up on them, haha, any way possible to get us a thumb sized puncture in the side wall... But it sure could have helped out on the two tires that just wore out 14,000 miles early! Well anyways, it's all good, cause now all four of my tires are covered under warranty, and so will be every tire I get for my little Honda from now on...

So this is great, we start a brand new school year Thursday morning, we have A LOT of new kids, and plenty who were with us last year as well... I absolutely can't wait to get started on this new year, I think it's gonna be a really great and exciting time! Here's what I want y'all to pray for us: That those kids, everyone of them will run over a brick, hit a curb, or just get worn out on this life they're used to. Just like new tires come with warranties, so do new lives!! And as soon as they get rid of that old life they were born into, and replace it with Christ, they'll have a lifetime and eternal warranty from their Creator! And you know what's so great about God's warranty? It covers the bricks and curbs we hit everyday, and there's no prorating involved, plus, He comes to us, we don't have to wait on the side of the road, all stranded and out of options, He's already there! He forgives us and makes us totally new absolutely free of charge! No road hazard needed!

Gosh, everytime I look at my tires, I'm reminded to praise God for replacing my life, all ripped up and worn out, with a brand new life, great tread, no chance of being left stranded on the side of the road after I hit another curb! Wow! Suddenly I don't fear those things anymore! God is so good! I'm then reminded to pray for the same life change in these great kids during their time at the ranch with us!

I can't wait to be a part of this year and see the Lord's hand at work! Thinking about it right now gets me so excited about seeing how He does His thing this year! Please pray with us that these kids open their hearts to His beautiful voice and that they "put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." I'll keep y'all updated!

Thanks, y'all, so much! I love each of you for your prayers and your thoughts! I already feel them for the start of the year! I think of you all so often and I look forward to hearing from y'all soon! Thanks again for your prayers!

His,

Anna Kathryn

"I thank my God everytime I remember you!

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy!"

Philippians 1:3-4

always there...

“But will God really dwell on earth?

The heavens, even the highest heavens cannot contain you.

How much less this temple I have built?”

1 Kings 8:27

It’s been a long time, I know, and a lot has happened since I last updated… School’s out, so that’s different… I said goodbye to a lot of kids who I loved dearly a few weeks ago… For some of them, it was a very happy goodbye and a joyous occasion as they left the Ranch to begin a new and functional life at home with their families, and for others, I will worry about them every day that I live, but I feel sure my God will watch over them as they are prayed for often. Milton Martin is out too, I left the Honda dealership about a month and a half ago to pursue other goals with my time, and with that job ending, I said goodbye to a lot of grown people who I really grew to love over the last two years… It’s a good thing my little civic will still need oil changes every few months, so I’ll get to see those friends often… My new found free time has left me with no choice but to find a business partner and start beading!! I’ll let you guys know when our little homemade jewelry business is really up and running good, and y’all can come visit us! But in the mean time we are having so much fun trying to make it happen!! Please pray for our little endeavor, as we truly seek the Lord’s guidance in all of our jewelling craziness!!

Gosh, speaking of the Lord’s guidance, I’ve been so lost without direction the past couple months, it’s been crazy… That’s why you haven’t heard from me in so long, but praise God I think I may have my priorities realigned!!

Here is one thing I know to be true, for sure: When you let your relationship with the Lord slip, it’s not just your relationship with Him that suffers, it’s your whole life basically… your relationships with your family, friends, the decisions you make every minute of the day, your goals, plans, endeavors, whatever you do throughout the day is hindered so deeply by your refusal to talk to Him, listen to Him, and be open to His suggestions…. That’s a really crazy thing, because who has better suggestions than God? Right? So, what am I thinking every morning when I wake up? Every night before I go to sleep? “I got this… I can do this on my own… Yes, I’m doing all of this for you, God, but I don’t need your help, ok? I can glorify you in everything I do, without you even being in the picture… easy!” No joke, that’s the last 2 months of my life summed up in three lines…. If our bodies are His temple, why, no really, WHY would He choose to dwell in mine? According to my skewed thinking, I don’t even need Him…

And what happens? My relationships suffer; my family, my friends…. My endeavors fail; my goals, my plans seem so far-fetched… I make poor decisions that directly affect all of my relationships…..

It really all comes back to one really important thing……

Oh God,

“Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.”

1 Kings 8:30

I’m never going to find the peace I need in these situations if I don’t include the Lord… And it’s not just “Fix this, God,” it’s the peace that I need to be able to make decisions that aren’t easy, but are right; to forgive people and overlook silly things; to follow God’s guidance in my endeavors instead of what I think will work the best, please, in my experience, what I think will work the best… never does!!

It’s a good feeling to come to a place in your faith where you’re like, “Wow, this isn’t working… I really can’t go at it alone… God, all the heavens can’t even hold you! How much less to dwell in me! But that’s where you choose to be! Father, forgive me for not welcoming you into my life, my relationships and my decisions… Forgive me!”

It’s an amazing feeling to come to a place in your faith where you feel Him nudge you and whisper in your ear that sweet reminder:

“My eyes and my heart will always be there.”

1 Kings 9:3

Praise God, I can’t escape Him, no matter how hard I try – a true fear of mine I’ll write about another time... Anyways, God is good, keep in touch!! And that’s the moral!

Thanks for reading this far, I really do appreciate it! As for my next month or so, I’ll be busy traveling the eastern US, a week in Kiowa Island with a family I love a lot, two very much anticipated weeks in the state that I love (Tennessee), a week in New Jersey with my amazingly strong grandmother who I love so much and our wonderful family up there (I love them too!) Wow, that’s a lot of love! Anyways, then it’s school time again! It sure goes by quicker than it used to!! But I look so much forward to starting the new school year and seeing those kid’s faces again! Please pray for them over the summer, it’s an important time of year for their growth at the Ranch and in their families!

I love all of y’all a lot, and I thank you so much for your thoughts and your prayers! I pray that the Lord keeps you safe and watches over all of you every day this summer and most importantly that you don’t forget to invite Him! He’s a good one, I promise!!

His,

Anna Kathryn

“I thank my God every time I remember you,

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy!!”

Philippians 1:3&4