Happy Reformation Day!

Today is Reformation Day - the day that marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in 1517. Now, most of you are celebrating Halloween today, but long before ghosts & goblins and trick or treat - a little German monk was hammering something very important to a great wooden door! On this day - way back then, Dr. Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.

Tonight, Jon and I will "celebrate" Reformation Day with one of our favorite movies Luther and some treats of course! Now, you're probably thinking the same thing I was when Jon and I bought this movie (before seeing it) and brought it home to watch it.. "this is going to be lame, I'm so not interested in this kind of film..." Well let me tell you - I loved it!!! This truly is a great movie. The acting is terrific, the set is superb and the drama - really thrilling! So, go check it out and see what Reformation Day is all about.

Happy Friday Everybody!!!

For today's installment of Fantabulous Fridays, I thought I would talk about a must see movie (hence the popcorn in the picture above!)

If you have not already done so you should go check out The Ultimate Gift. If you've already seen it... go rent it again or buy it! I know I will... This is definitely one of the best movies of the year. Starring the amazing child actress, Abigail Breslin and an old favorite, James Garner, The Ultimate Gift is sure to give you the warm fuzzies :) This family friendly, faith based movie will remind us all that, "Love is a treasure for which we can never pay. The only way we can keep it is to give it away. (Jim Stovall)"



So, check it out! Oh, and be sure to scroll down a bit to vote for your favorite logo.... See you Monday!

Just for my Momma!

Okay, the votes are coming in and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has voted so far! Some of you have said it was an easy choice - others said not so much... My mother even complained that there weren't enough choices :) Just kidding - she said too many, which brings me to this post. I wanted to give you one more option. I was playing on the computer again and came up with one final design for this part of the contest. You may like it - you may hate it! The choice is up to you.... well, it's up to you to help me decide anyway :) S o here it is -

Okay - here's the deal! Most of you know that I have a little "business on the side". It's called studio sixteen six taken from my favorite Psalm. Psalm 16:6 says, "the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places..." and there is nothing more true about my life than that! I am blessed with a wonderful family, great friends and a dream job. However, due to a recent "injury" of sorts (a pinched nerve that has affected my hands and wrists), I have been in slow motion in the painting world :( But, fear not - I am coming back. My hands, though still not back to normal are getting better and I am working on all of the orders that came in just before my "disability". So - that brings me to the fun part of this post. I have been putting off designing a logo for my business because I really can't put on paper what I see in my head. Well, after some playing in Microsoft Publisher, I have come up with a few rough drafts. Please look them over and then leave me a comment as to which you like best or leave "notes" about what you think I should do! As far as labeling them in your vote - just put whatever number the picture is (i.e. first, second, third). Okay, I am waiting to hear from you all! Thanks for helping!!!

I love Christmastime!

Yes, I said Christmas and I know it's only October. But, when the stores begin to put out all of those Christmas decorations, I just can't help myself! Come on, I know there are some of you out there that do the same... Anyway, even though we all have gifts to buy, trees to decorate, carols to sing, etc. etc. etc. I wanted to tell you about my most favorite thing about Christmas time. A little organization known as Operation Christmas Child! Each year around October, I begin filling shoeboxes with toys, candy, clothing items and of course love - for children around the world who have never had a Christmas like me. This year is no different. I am well on my way to completing 6 shoeboxes for 3 little boys and 3 little girls!

Now, some of you know me well enough to know that I have never stopped at 6 boxes - but this year I decided to go with quality rather than quantity. In years past I have tried to do as many boxes as I could possibly get away with without spending thousands of dollars! Yes, I could literally spend $1000 filling shoeboxes for these kids... and most of the $ would be spent in the Dollar Tree :) But, this year I wanted to give more. So, I chose to do one box for each age group for both boys and girls. I am trying to think of things that would occupy me if I were in their shoes and knew it might be a whole year before I got a new pair of socks, a new toy or even a new toothbrush! Be sure to leave me a comment if you (or your kids!) have suggestions.

However, I really hope that you will consider doing a box yourself. One box is all it takes to make a child's Christmas! There are collection sites all over the United States, so all you have to do is fill it with goodies and drop it off. This could be a really fun project to do with your kids as well! I hope that you will at least pray for the children that will receive shoeboxes this year. As they are delivered and passed out, the children hear and more importantly see the love of Christ! Isn't that what Christmas is all about anyway? So come on, what are you waiting for? Go to http://www.samaritanspurse.org/OCC for more information about how you can give the gift of Christmas to a needy child around the world! There is power in a simple gift...

National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes is November 12-19, 2007

Thankful Tuesday!

Hello all! I decided today (in the midst of an attitude problem) that I would think of things I am thankful for. I wanted to share just a few... Of course I am first and foremost thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him carrying me through each day I would be a pitiful site to see! Most days I am like Mephibosheth, crippled and unable to bring myself to the King's table, and Jesus just carries me into His presence. One of the bands in last Friday's music picks, Leeland, just recorded a song called "Carried to the Table". You can find the song on my playlist at the bottom of this page. I encourage you to give it a listen -because we were all wounded and forsaken, shattered by the fall...then carried to the table, seated where we don't belong, swept away by His love. I hope that you will all remember that this is the one thing we should all be most thankful for!

Secondly, I am thankful for a husband who loves me the way he does. Let me tell you folks... I got it good! Most days I sit and think that we (Jon & I) must be somewhat of an anomoly. All around me I hear and see couples that disrespect each other, ignore each other and wish for something or someone different. I have never felt that way! Praise God for a marriage built around Him and His love for both of us! (Thank you Baby for loving me like you do - I love you bunches!)

Okay, I promise I am almost done :) But, before I go I have to say that I am thankful for friends, old and new. Today I had lunch with one of my oldest friends. Although we don't see or talk to each other a whole lot these days, knowing that she is there and that we will always be us is so awesome. Thank you Amy D - for the good times and the bad! They all just made us stronger and maybe even a little wiser :)

Lastly, yes this is the last one. I am thankful for.............Lucy!!! Yes, I said it. I am thankful for my dog. She loves me unconditionally, is always happy to see me and guards me with her life. Silly I know, but just having those things in physical form (as opposed to Spiritual which is of course even better) does wonders for a girl! My advice - get yourself a dog :) I always told Jon that I would never allow a dog inside, never allow myself to get attached to one and never treat them like a human. Wrong! I am whipped. I am attached. I talk to her like she's a real person. And guess what, it's all worth it for that tail waggin' get over here and pet me look I get every day when I come home!

So, that's all for today's installment of The Bradberrys: Life with Lucy! Tune in tomorrow for whatever else I dream up to blog about. Until then - Chocolate milk wishes and Oreo dreams!

Wehadababyitsaboy!

Meet Weson...

Do you remember that commercial? Guy calls home, collect, and instead of giving his name when prompted he says, "Wehadababyitsaboy!" then hangs up due to the high cost of making a collect call. Well, Wehadababyitsaboy! Okay, not really but I can pretend can't I? The truth is that Jon and I were blessed to go to Casting Crowns' the Altar and the Door tour/concert and we signed up to sponsor a World Vision child!

This is our cute little guy! He is 5 years old (birthday-February 12, 2002) and lives in India with his parents and one brother. His father and mother are farmers and Weson is already learning to do small tasks to help out around the house. We can't wait to find out more about him and write to him. I hope you will all pray for him and his family. I will update each time I get new information and if you would like to know more about World Vision for yourself you can visit http://www.worldvision.org/ .

Well, that's all you're going to get today! Be sure to check back tomorrow for an installment of Life with Lucy and a special announcement!

Kudos are in order!

Good morning all! I want to give a quick shout out to one of my (and Jon's) former professors - Dr. Mark Rathel. Dr. Rathel just became the North American Mission Board's first certified Apologetics Instructor! This guy is truly one of the best teachers I ever had and he is very deserving of this honor. So, kudos to you Dr. Rathel -

keep defending the faith!
For the full story check this out -
http://www.namb.net/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=9qKILUOzEpH&b=227361&ct=4537967


See you all in a bit for your daily dose of Life with Lucy!

Fantabulous Fridays!

Welcome to the new Friday segment of thebradberryfamily. Each Friday I will post things that are currently on my "it list". Things that I happen to be a big fan of - as in Fantabulous Fridays!

So for today I would like to share with you some current tunes that I think everyone should have and consequently the 3 groups I am currently jamming to happen to be on tour together - so you should also see the show - it's awesome! They are

For more information on these bands

or the tour check out the website -

http://www.thealtarandthedoor.com/

Hello world... I'm back!

Well, it's been what? Over a month since my last post... I apologize! Things have been crazy for the Bradberrys lately - but I won't bore you with all of it:) I will tell you that Jon has been looked at by several churches. For those of you who don't already know - my husband, Jon is a Pastor and we are currently between churches. We left Canaan in April, where he was serving as Youth Pastor. He has always had a strong calling to preach, to teach the Word, to Pastor! So, we have been "supply preaching" in churches all over creation since then. We are also interviewing along the way, but we are still seeking God at this time to lead us to the church He has for us! It's so exciting - really! Even though we haven't found that place yet, just knowing what God can do and that He is molding us to minister to a particular people and at the same time working in their hearts to prepare them for us... WOW! We do covet your prayers as we seek to be where God would have us.

So, preaching keeps us pretty busy. Painting keeps me even busier, despite the current pinched nerve that makes my hands not function quite right! If you have checked out our other blogs you'll have already seen a glimpse into my little art studio. Really it should just be called a hobby - because I don't consider it true art.... but anyway that's enough for apologies. Let's get to the real reason we're all here.... LUCY!

Needless to say, she gets this gorgeous hair from her "mother" :) She really does take after me quite a bit, despite the fact that she's a Daddy's Girl. Like this little thing with her tongue - totally a me thing - just ask my momma! However, don't ask her about the whole Lucy in the bed thing... she isn't a "believer" yet! I mean seriously, could you put this sweet little girl out in the heat or cold??? Not me! She has become quite the star of our little family. Everyone asks about her, not us. Everyone wants to visit her, not us. Her grandparents in Florida even asked if we could just send her in our place for Thanksgiving! Sorry Pop, no can do - you'll just have to wait for Christmas!

Well, I do hope to become a more regular poster on this here blog. For now I leave you with more pictures of dear Lucy!

Lucy and Jon at the park behind Grandpa's house in Pennsylvania! Even from behind, aren't they cute?

Lucy's favorite spot! Thanks Great-Grandpa for the turtle... I love it! Sorry you're having to see it so dirty - but as soon as Daddy cleans it up I mess it up!