Friends ARE Such a Blessing

So I am officially the worst blogger. Sometimes I just feel like I really don't have much to say that is fun or interesting or I don't have cute baby pics like so many of you! But then I get a friendly reminder that I need to update so I do!

These past few weeks have been full of seeing God's blessings at work! There are blessings at work each and everyday that go unnoticed, but THEN there are times that you just truly stop and see them.

Here lately I have been really down in the dumps and just feeling like I don't have anyone to go out and do something with. I know that I have friends and that the Lord has blessed me above and beyond with the friendships I have! However, most of these friends are married, have babies, or live somewhere other than me. So I have been praying here recently that the Lord would put a friend in my life to fill the blues! It was amazing how I saw my prayers answered this week, plus a few others as well.

I have had a friend from high school's phone number in my phone since October, but I just haven't taken the time to call her. So last Friday night when I had NOTHING to do I decided to call her and see what she was up to. I got her voice mail and left a message and she called back on Saturday and left me a message. In her message I could tell something just wasn't right. She sounded sooo sad. So I called her back on Monday and soon learned the reason for her sadness. I am not going to share the story as I am not sure if she would be ok with me sharing with so many, but it is one of the saddest stories I have heard in a long time. She has lost someone very close to her, but in her sadness all she could talk about were the blessings from loving this person. She kept saying how blessed she was that she finally felt love and what to love someone really meant. It broke my heart to hear her sadness. But in this sadness I started to see two prayers being answered. Right now all she needs is a friend and right then all I need was a friend. We were able to go to dinner and to the Mav's game on Wednesday together and it was so good to just spend time with an old friend. Plus we already have plans to get together again soon! I can just see how the Lord is working!

Secondly I was able to spend some good ol' quality time with my favorite Flea! That is my wonderful old roommate Felicia. We were able to meet on Saturday in Southlake and just spend the day together. Flea you will never know how much fun I had with you and how much our friendship means to me! Felicia and I have been through so much together and I am so blessed by her sweet spirit. Who would have ever guessed that you would find one of your best friends in your ACU Welcome Week group (and that was Group 3)!

I am so thankful for the friends that God continues to bless my life with. Friendship is one of the greatest blessings He so freely gives! To all my friends out there reading this, I love you all!

UGH!!

Do you ever just have one of those days when you feel UGH!!! Well today is one of those days. It just seemed like nothing would or could go right! I guess it is the Monday before the Christmas break so that could be part of it!

It all started this morning at school when my principal came in to observe me. Normally this does not phase me in the least, but today it just threw me! I got so nervous and could not make anything work. The kids were out of control (one of my little ones who has autism just would not follow any type of direction at all!). No one would answer my questions, follow directions, or participate in the activity I had planned. It was a very fun small group activity! So I think that my third evaluation is going to be bad! Plus I am just a little upset that I am doing the small group activities I am this week. We are doing Nursery Rhymes this week! Which gets me all worked up in the first place. I hate it that we can not talk about the Holidays at all! It isn't even that we can't talk about Christmas, it's we can't discuss any of the Holidays that are celebrated during this time. I just feel like these kids miss out on so much fun stuff! No snowmen, no reindeer, no wreaths, no nothing!! I just hate it!

So UGH!!! It's just a Monday, let's hope tomorrow is a better day :)

Church Shopping....I hate the thought!

So one of the pros to staying in New York City (when I was trying to make the big move decision) was the fact that I LOVED my church there. I was attending the Apostles Church of the City. I can remember walking into church the very first time I visited and knew that this was going to be my church home! I knew that every Sunday I was there I was going to be hearing something straight from the Word. I was connected with a small group that I grew to love and trust and cried the night I went to my small group for the last time. I made friends who I knew were praying for me and would hold me accountable for my actions. I grew stronger in my knowledge of the Bible and was challenged to grow closer to the Lord. As I left the city I prayed and have continued to pray that the Lord would guide me to a place I could call home yet again. So....now begins the quest for a church home. I hate the thought of Church Shopping but in a way that is what you have to do. I have been to a couple of churches thus far and still am searching. I know that I can get plugged into any of these churches I have visited but I want to know that I am going to grow stronger in my faith from attending. I know that the Lord is going to be faithful in guiding me to my new church home, but I pray that I don't have to do much more shopping!!! I have and hopefully will always love going to church and I pray that I find the perfect place for me here in Texas!

The Pictures

Some of my little friends at camp!

Me and Tah Tah (Teresa) I miss her so much!

My Mom and Sister came for a great visit!
It was sooooo good to see them!

Robyn, Kristi, and Me in Philly learning a little about
the beginning of our "great United States."

A Much Needed Update!

So with a much needed push from some friends I have finally decided to update the Blog. I am not really sure where to begin or what all needs to be included in this blog, but here goes nothing.

Since my last blog back in March much has happened in the life of April Baker. In March the massive Spring Break campaign marathon for Shiloh began and I had never been busier. I was able to see so many great friends that came up with their campaigns as well as make many more. From then on the big push for Camp Shiloh 2007 began. The annual work teams came up and remodeled and revamped camp in so many much needed ways. I got to see some of my best friends and learned how to do a little plumbing myself! Needless to say with friends and working plumbing life was good! On July 1st, Camp Shiloh 2007 started! As with every summer, so many blessings were poured out from the Lord, but many challenging events occurred as well. By the end of the summer many of you know I was at one of the lowest points in my life. I am not sure where it came from other than feeling like I had poured my heart and soul out for almost a year in NYC and had not been taking the time to fill my own cup back up. My cup was past empty and I knew that a major decision was needed in order for me to get back to the "old April" as so many of my friends referred to. So at the end of September I made the decision to move back to Texas for a little bit. I finished up in October with Shiloh and was able to go out on a high note with a youth event called Revolution! It was an amazing weekend with around 120 teens and it was just what I needed to come home on. So I am now back in Texas and at this point opening my heart and mind to what the Lord has in store for me next. I am back working as a Speech Path and am enjoying what I am doing. I am still searching for where and what I am to do next but know that the Lord has a plan and is going to reveal each part of it to me when he is ready to do so.

I appreciate all the love and support each from my friends and family and am so lucky to have you in my life. Most of you who read this blog fit into that category and I don't tell you enough how much I love you! Glad to be back in Texas.....and I will try to be better in my updates :)!

There will be pictures of the life and times of April living in NYC shortly!

Good Times

So I just now have figured out how to post pictures, and I am not sure why it has taken me so long to do so! But here you go! Here are just a few things that I have been up to in the seven months I have been living in NYC. The time has gone so fast at times and then again it has gone so super slow (that being the winter.) So from start until now, here is a glimpse into my life in NYC.

It all started at Camp Shiloh this past summer with four of my favorite campers. I have known two of them for 5 years now and have become known as "Mom" at camp to them. I am still not sure how I fell about being called "Mom" but at least I know they love and respect me.

This is where i live! Isn't it a great NYC apartment!

Three of my best friends here in the city! We were on our way back to IKEA to take this lovely van we rented back. We had to rent a van to get all of our furniture we bought at IKEA to our apartment. Fun Times!!

Back to the 80's! Valencia and Me at Revolution! We had so much fun that weekend and had a blast roller skating with the Shiloh teens all dressed in our 80's outfits!

Shiloh Teens and Kristi and Me at a New Jersey Nets game. We had a blast taking the kids to the game. Many of them had never been to a professional basketball game before and loved every minute of it! Kristi and I were very proud to be sporting our Nets jerseys we got for free!

What's Going On????

Some days you just have to ask yourself, what's going on? Yesterday was one of those days.....!!!!

I had just left my apartment to go to a meeting and I step outside, wait what is this falling from the sky, rain??? It can't be no one said anything about rain, but yes that is what is was. I was already running late for the meeting so I just put my hood on and thought, the heck with this I can get a little wet. So I walked on debating on walking the 12 blocks, taking the subway, or taking a bus. So Kristi (my roommate) and I decided just to take the bus. So we get to the bus stop and wait, and wait, and wait (in the rain with only my hood pulled on) and an express bus passes (doesn't stop where we are waiting) and then another express bus passes. So we decided we should walk up three blocks to the bus stop for the express bus. We get there and wait and wait and wait. We then decide we only have nine blocks to go so lets just walk. So we turn to begin walking and all of the sudden I feel a punch in my arm. Wait a minute did someone just punch me. YES!!! A MAN JUST HIT ME!! I turned around after finally realizing what just happened, and a strange man was just mumbling to himself standing there in the rain. Knowing that there are people all over this city that at any given time aren't with it I just turned and kept walking.

So know I ask myself, what's going on in this world that a stranger would feel compelled to just punch someone in the arm for no good reason. I didn't run into him, say anything to him, and even get a cab in front of him....I was just walking down the street like he was. What could be going in this person's life for him to hit a total stranger. I will never know, but I have to chalk it up to first in my life. I got punched, thankfully it was just on my shoulder and not a couple of inches higher or I might have a broken jaw. You never know what you might run into in this crazy city.

For those of you who know my dad, please don't pass this story on! He is already worried that I will end up in an episode of law and order or nypd blues!

One Day More

I can't believe it is the middle of March! Where has the time gone? I have been really behind in my posts!

A little bit of good news. The high for Wednesday is suppose to be 67. Wait could that be correct? No way, it was 12 degrees last week and snowing!! But wait, weather.com says that is what it is to be. I think I know why this is occurring. First, God is answering my prayers because I have been praying since Feb. that the weather would warm up and this week it is! Second, I got a pedicure on Saturday and had my favorite Spring color of California Coral painted on my toes! I truly believe that is what ushered Spring in! So girls just so you know, California Coral is the color that changes your life!

We are in the middle of Spring Break campaigns here at Shiloh. We had two groups from Middle Tennessee State University and Pepperdine University here last week and this week Indiana University and ACU are here and then next week Lipscomb University will be here. It has been great seeing these students working with so many children in the public schools in the Bronx! They have been doing such a great job and we have loved having them here. Several of my friends from camp have been with the campaigns as well so it has been great to see familiar faces. You don't realize how much you miss people that you truly know until they start showing up and it hits you hard! I miss my friends so much and am so thankful I have gotten to see a few familiar faces this month.

One day I will figure out how to post pictures and the other great things that blogger can do but until then you will just have to picture my smiling face! Miss you all!