Life as we know it...

It has been a busy time in this Gililland household, but some might say, "Isn't it always?!?"
It may take a few blog posts to get you updated...we'll see... or I will just give you the super short synopsis.

These past few weeks have been difficult and exciting in many different ways. Some of the reasons I cannot share just yet, but I promise to share soon.

Here is the synopsis of what I CAN tell you...
In the past month or so...

DJ's dad was placed in ICU due to sepsis (a blood infection). He is now in a long term hospital recovering from this serious infection, making lots of improvements and ready to head home in the near future.

I have spent 2 weekends in San Antonio for various reasons. My time there has been filled with drama and difficulties, but this time also makes me so thankful for my husband and his leadership. It makes me realize how thankful I am that Christ is the center of our marriage because without Him, we would be lost.

Last weekend I was in charge of the Love Out Loud conference at our church, for which I have been making preparations for about 6 months. Our church provided the host site for about 300 ladies from all over Texas. The SBTC brought in many great speakers and we were truly blessed by what the Lord did throughout the weekend.

We were responsible for organizing/preparing food, greeters, registration etc. I took off half a day last Thursday and all day Friday. I spent Thursday and Friday getting last minute preparations finished and then welcomed the ladies Friday evening. The event began with a dinner for the speakers. Our dinner team did an amazing job preparing an fabulous meal and the ladies said that they were truly spoiled. While the speakers enjoyed supper, the registration team and greeters took their places welcoming the rest of the ladies as they arrived. The snack team did a fantastic job providing all kinds of hospitality to the ladies throughout the weekend. The room set-up team made sure all of the break-out sessions were in order and the Saturday lunch team took care of serving boxed lunches to the ladies that day. It was such a neat opportunity to see the body of Christ at work.

Overall the conference, was a huge success, but not because of me. Just before the event began, many of my preparations were sent into a frenzy with last minute changes. I felt a little overwhelmed by the chaos this caused (mostly only in my mind) but the Lord showed me that it is not about me at all. Instead, He received all the Glory, even when I might have seemed slightly like a chicken-with-my-head-cut-off (hopefully not). However, despite the last minute changes, the Lord did a major work in the hearts of many women and He even let me have a small glimpse of what He did through the weekend.

On Thursday, just as my sub arrived so that I could leave for the conference, a camera crew arrived with balloons and another 3 foot check. I had received another STAR Teacher Grant from the Abilene Education Foundation. Two years ago I was blessed to receive a grant to add some much-needed technology to my classroom. This year, AEF blessed my students again by providing another grant so that I could add a document camera to the classroom technology. It should arrive this week, and I am super excited. Another exciting opportunity presented itself this week and I will share about this soon!