Prayer Requests for My Trip

One of my lovely co-workers suggested that I post a list of different things you all could pray about in regards to my trip to Alaska. Here it is. .
God's Blessing and Involvement: Pray that God would be in and through this entire trip, He'd put people in my path that need Him, and that my work with this ministry would be fruitful. Pray for people to be open to the Gospel and that even now God would be working.
Safety
Holes that I've left here to be successfully filled: Pray that God would provide the necessary people to fill in at the Deaf ministry at my church. Also, that everything would run smoothly at KALS.
Good Health: So far I've been able to dodge most of the sicknesses around here. Pray I don't get anything on my trip.
Final Preparations: This last week is a little bit crazy. Pray I'd be able to focus and get everything done that I need to.

That pretty much sums it up. I appreciate everyone's support and prayers for me during this trip.
I can't believe I'm leaving in less than a week! These last few months have flown by. I'm not exactly sure where they've went, but it's been good!
I'm ecstatic about this trip but I will miss all of you terribly. :'( You'll be in my prayers and thoughts.
I'm going to try to update periodically to let you all know how things are going.

Alaska Bound

Well as most of you have probably already heard, I am going to Alaska. . . this spring!! I cannot wait. I've had a special obsession with Alaska for quite a while. When I was about 12, my fascination with Alaska began. . I love the cold. . and the sled dogs. . and the pure wild. . .and I love radio. . so the opportunity to work in the bush at a Christian radio station just makes me ecstatic.

I had originally planned to go to Alaska for 2 months. That was before a lot of things came up: my church started a Deaf ministry(I am one of two interpreters there), and I started working a lot at KALS. With much prayer and consideration I decided to shorten my time to five weeks. I have been challenged concerning my decision to go; but I have complete, 100% peace that God wants me to go on this trip.
The village I'm going to--Nenana, AK--has a population of 450 people, 1/2 of which is Athabascan.
The people of Alaska are desperate for the hope of the Gospel, especially natives. A lot of young Alaskans leave their native villages for larger cities where there are more opportunities. This leaves villages in a kind of hopeless state. The suicide rate in Alaska in 2x the national average. I'm really looking forward to how God is going to use this trip!!!
I will be working at KIAM radio with Voice for Christ Ministries. Here's a link to their website.
http://www.vfcm.org/
This ministry is rock solid. A testament to their heart for missions is the fact that at the top of their About Us page is Jesus Christ.
Anyway, I really appreciate your prayers for my upcoming trip. Pray specifically for safety, God's blessing, and wisdom.
Just for the record. . . I won't be living in an igloo.

2011 Polar Plunge

It was 11 degrees outside. . . I thought about backing out, but man it was super fun!

Twenty Ten :)

I don't even know how to start beginning to tell you how amazing this past year has been. I got a new church, a new sister-in-law, a new job, a new guitar, a new everything. It has been SO blessed by God.
So the beginning of this year I actually was on a train with little Zubby and we stayed up all, well most of the night playing cards with people I didn't even really know and playing the hang drums. It was a great trip visiting my Aunt and eating lots of really good Wisconsin food.
When I arrived back home from that trip, I randomly decided to walk into KALS and apply. As I know by now, nothing is really random though and God has a plan for everything. They told me that they needed someone to fill in for a live church service on Sunday. That's how I started just a few hours on Sunday. We'll come back to this story later.
Around the first of the year we started going to Gospel Light Baptist Church. I am so sure that God led me there. He has also led many of my friends there and many Deaf people. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of the Deaf ministry there.
The very beginning of the year Josiah (my oldest brother) got engaged to Emily Stafford. The spring was spent wedding planning, wedding planning, and more wedding planning. I really like wedding planning though. Hopefully another one of these siblings decides to get married soon so I can help with another wedding. I took Josiah and Emily's engagement photos with Twilight (my camera, nothing to do with the movie) and also designed their wedding invitations with Photoshop. I have since taken 13,000 pictures. You can see the 101 Best Photos of 2010 from this link. You don't have to be a member of FB, btw.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2101902&id=1291540410&l=c1e9c4f574
So, where was I at. . .March, April, and May were all spent working at Super 1 City Center in the Produce Department, managing the Pro-Life Website, and some graphic design work here and there. I did go swimming in March which was pretty fun. I even convinced Emily to jump in with me.
Oh May, there was that trip. Where on earth do I start? Somewhere between being crammed in a hotel room with 11 other people, not showering for way too long, hiking some pretty insane stuff, driving across Texas with no AC in a metal car, I decided that road trips are pretty much awesome! I truly hope to return to the Grand Canyon and hike all the way to the bottom of it.
You can read more about that trip here:
http://gracemontana.blogspot.com/2010/06/been-while.html
June, I went to the Bible Conference in Dillon. Absolutely one of the best weeks of my entire life!!! I don't even know where to start! I've been to a lot of different Bible camps, retreats, ect.; but truly the one in Dillon was like nothing I've ever seen before. I really prayed for God to use me and He gave me more opportunities then I could ever imagine.
Sometime in June I went to the music conference in Malta. Really fun Southern Gospel with almost a Country Gospel flair to it. Definitely the best genre of music.
July 31st. Josiah and Emily got married. They had an absolutely beautiful wedding at Gospel Light Baptist Church and a reception to follow at the Cowboy Church. All of us girls wore cowboy boots (kind of a country style). There are a few pictures of that in my 101 photos of the year album. I'm also overjoyed to announce that Emily is expecting a child in May of 2011. We are all very excited. I'm going to be an aunt!!!
In August, I started working at the radio station part time and have since just been given tons of opportunities to do a lot of different kinds of work there. From office work, to traffic, to special events, to production--I absolutely love it all. I'm so blessed to have the most amazing co-workers on the planet!!!
In September, I quit Super 1 and started teaching piano. I'm really glad for that change.
With the fall came hunting season. Oh boy was that an adventure as always! For those of you who don't know, my family is big time into hunting. The boys went East opening day and shot close to a dozen deer. Hunting around here was not as I had hoped. . .so I figured I'd go East. . . well yeah. The trip didn't turn out as I'd expected, but I had a blast. The full story is right here. Poor Beatle, she worked so hard and still never got a cow elk.
http://gracemontana.blogspot.com/2010/11/promised-land.html
And then there's December. I've had an absolutely blessed Christmas, not just the day; but the whole month. Christmas I spent with the family watching movies (Defiance is a really nice movie, btw), eating some pretty yummy food, and hanging out with the family (which is never, ever dull).
Well, that's the year. . .and there is so much more. . looking back on it, I'm just in awe of God and who He is.
I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store!! :)

Christmas. . . .

One of my friends posted an article explaining some of the reasons why he didn't celebrate Christmas. . Well and I tried to post a response, but it was too long (shocker, I know). So, I decided that I should just post my own article.
First off, I think you all should know where I'm coming from. As much as we hate to admit me, our growing up and various experiences have some influence on what we believe. I seek to only base my beliefs on the Bible. With that being said, I have been on both sides of the Christmas debate. My family didn't celebrate Christmas until I was about 15 or 16. I've heard it all from the tree being evil, to the wise men not being three, to the time Jesus was born, and that Christmas is a pagan holiday.
I'm not even going to attempt to explain the origins of Christmas or any of it's traditions. Does it really matter? God owns December 25th as much as he does any other day. If the devil originally took the date, I am thankful that now it is a predominantly Christian holiday. It is the only time of year when you will hear "Away in a Manger" on a secular radio station or "Fall On Your Knees" sung on TV. What a great witnessing opportunity!

^{Romans 14:5}One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

⁶He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

So does it really matter? When you stand before God, I really don't think He's going to care if you celebrated Christmas or not.

As far as Christmas being commercialized! I ain't going to deny it. But whether you let greed overcome you this Holiday Season, is your decision. . Christmas doesn't make you greedy.

What will God care about?

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.

Your heart. . .Where was yours this Christmas?

Mt. Rainier

One of my friend's videos is in the Sierra Trading Post video contest. You all should watch it and cast a vote for him. It's Phase 2 Finalist, the middle one called Mt. Rainier. This really makes me want to climb the mountain.
Whoever gets the most votes wins $2500.

http://beta.sierratradingpost.com/lp2/share-your-adventure-video

Lethal Coffee

Here is the Coffee Song. I have no idea who wrote it or who sings it. Got it from some ranching friends of mine. Blogspot won't let me upload an audio file, so I threw together a quick video, hence the random photos