To Save A Life and more...

(pictures coming soon.)

Larry and Betty came down to Indiana to celebrate Elisha and Larry's birthdays! They got a hotel room and Brad, Elisha, and I stayed with them! It was nice to be with them and see Elisha have so much fun. She's so full of life. I enjoyed the big queen bed and so did Brad. It was quite a blessing to have breakfast prepared for you to eat in the morning! I made Elisha a birthday cake and we went to Mr. Gatti's to celebrate! It was a small intimate party with Brad, his parents, myself, the birthday girl, Nancy, Chris, & our dear friend Calli. Elisha dug her fingers into the cake before she could blow the candle out. LOL After eating and opening a few gifts we went back into Gatti Land and played some neat games. My favorite of course is; Skeet Ball. Elisha loves the basketball games and she liked sitting on Daddy's lap to play an arcade game of car racing.

The next day, Monday, we all got up and headed back to Nancy's house and decided to take a walk. It was an absolute perfect sunshiny day! Elisha played in the park as we talked plans of Elisha and I going up to Michigan to visit for a few weeks. Now here we are and I'm so glad we're here. Elisha is really enjoying her grandparents, and of course missing her daddy, and so am I... that is my husband.

Brad and I had a date night and saw To Save A Life. It's about this young white teenager who had a best friend growing up who was black and saved his life. They were playing "trick or treat" in the middle of July (as most boys do) and the one boy wasn't paying attention as his young black friend pushed him out of harms way from a vehicle. The young black man was injured to the point of being crippled. He cheered his friend on as he played in all kinds of sports. Later in Freshmen year of High School the young white teen was a basketball star and gained a lot of attention and decided to ditch his friend who saved his life for popularity and a girlfriend. The story goes on and one day the young black teen commits suicide. The young white teen's life, a senior then, is changed forever... and at that you'll have to see the movie for yourself to find out what happens and how many lives are changed.
Official movie website: http://tosavealifemovie.com/index.php

I will tell you during the movie I was weeping and being broken. I was being broken because the L-rd was showing me faces of people I knew as a single woman and married to Brad that had been touched and were changed b/c we chose Jesus instead of ourselves and it saved a life (lives). That's what it is all about. You can't have true revival until you take G-d to the people. I believe that the body of Christ is outside of four walls and that she will become united and more powerful to touch others when she reaches out to the hurting world around her. To the dirty, needy, poor, and most wretched, to the loners, the cutters, the ones left aside who feel so alone. G-d wants to use you and me, my family and yours through prayers and intercession, through the works of love and faith to change lives. If we don't love the convict, if we don't love the kid messed up on drugs or alcohol, the lonely girl who cuts herself, the girl who clings to any boy, the guy who walks alone crooked and mocked at who will?

Once I hugged a homeless woman and it was the greatest hug I have ever received and given. I wanted to keep holding her and pouring love in her that she beamed with it. Being on the streets and being empowered by the Holy Spirit in love and the authority of Christ in me is my greatest desire. I wait upon the L-rd as He is doing a mighty work in me and my family to bring us to the most humble place that we can be used in the highest places. Those places are where my future brothers and sisters await. Those places are where we'll see many receive their L-rd and King, be healed, delivered, set free, made whole. Right now that place is Bedford, Indiana. The youth in that town are being so affected by the Love of Christ we're seeing them so transformed they are looking more and more like love and living in it. Many of them have seen the movie and are being moved by the Holy Spirit to do more and to be there "brothers keeper" to love their neighbors as they love themselves.

The greatest lesson Brad and I are learning is: to know nothing except Christ Crucified. A crucified life. I know I've received the revelation of Jesus Christ and who He is but Brad and I are receiving the deeper knowledge of bearing our cross and the true joy that comes out of loving and serving others and denying self and diving into the Glory of our King.

“Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him." (Matt. 28)

We love all of you and thank you all for your prayers over us and for us. We pray our lives will bless you because of Christ in us the Hope of Glory.

"And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony^a]">[a] of God. ² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. ⁴ And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human^b]">[b] wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (1Corinth. 2:1-5)

Happy 2010!

Just a little update.

Brad got the job at Pizza Hut as Shift Manager and he started training last night 1/19. Please pray for him as he heads into new territory of work. He sounds pretty excited to be working and learning some new things (like how to make Pizza Hut pizzas YUM-YUM)!

Leslie is currently staying home with Elisha and new baby on the way. Please pray for us as we are getting into the 2 year old stage where Elisha wants to do more and mommy wants energy to be there with her! Woo Hoo!

We've been living with our gracious friend Nancy who is in charge of the Bible Study/Ministry. Brad built our room in the front of her house and has helped do other handyman things around the house. We have enjoyed staying with her and her family. Her daughter Andrea comes home today from Afghanastan! Her husband lives there right now to teach there for 2 years (I think). It'll be good to have her here but very hard for her as her husband is so far away. Please pray for them.

I have a few pictures below for you to enjoy.

I seem to have forgotten that some of you haven't received the good news yet! Brad and I are expecting a baby due July 4, 2010! Elisha knows there's a baby in mommy's tummy! It's so cute she'll point to her own tummy and say 'baby' and keep talking about it! :-)PTL!

I have a seperate blog just for the ministry being created and will send your way soon!

G-d is good all the time!

Happy New Year 2009!

In the first edition of our newsletters we welcome you as our family and friends into our lives and hearts!

Brad, Elisha, and I rang in the New Year at the Onething Young Adults Conference! Imagine 15,000

of your closest family and friends dancing, singing, and rejoicing in the New Year by worshipping the King of kings! It was exciting and in my opinion the most wonderful way to bring in the next year. The conference was over the book of Revelation and the importance of knowing and understanding it, especially for these end-time days we live in. http://www.ihop.org/onething

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which G-d gave Him to show His servants things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of G-d, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near." Revelation 1:1-3

Elisha is 10 months old on January 4 and on March 4 she will be turning 1 year old! She has one of the happiest personalities I've seen! She has 6 teeth fully in and one on the way in! She loves to climb the stairs now so we're having to make a custom gate to fit our bottom stair, YIKES! She is a very social and loves to say Hi-e-e! and wave at people and the telephone. Elisha says: Hi, mama, dada, baby, my baby, and her newest... Happy! We were at the conference and Elisha was turned around in my chair being her social sweet self and waved to the girls behind us and said... "Happy, Happy, Happy!" I think our little song: If Your Happy and You Know It has paid off! :) And if you're wondering Elisha is still crawling, quite fast I must say, and not walking yet! She brings a lot of joy to our lives.

Elisha taking some steps from Aunt Beth to her Grandpa Larry! She took several steps that day and not one to me until the next day... :)

Elisha with Grandpa Nowotny!

Daddy-Daughter feet at Padre Island on Thanksgiving Day!

Okay this one was to cute not to put up! Elisha meeting her Great-Grandparents in Texas!

As some of you know Brad and I have debts that we need to pay off, so we're prayfully looking for and waiting for responses of a new job opportunity for Bradley. He hasn't had very much work coming in. Please keep us in your prayers for us to continue to trust in the L-rd and remain patient and faithful in prayer.

Recently our friends have given us their upright piano on loan until they have a better location to put it. It has become quite the addicting habit to play on and worship with... um whenever we're not doing anything else. :)We have thoroughly enjoyed visiting all of our family and friends in Texas for Thanksgiving and in Michigan for Christmas. We wish we could spend more time with all of you. Until the next newsletter... WE LOVE YOU!!

Love,

Brad, Leslie, and Elisha